Bringing out your leadership qualities

The transition from technical expert to leader can be a difficult one. George Griffin looks at the opportunities – and the challenges.

From the moment it was clear that the global economy was entering choppy waters, a significant number of column inches have been dedicated to discussing the need for effective leadership in the public sector in challenging times. For the first time in decades, public sector managers are having tough conversations with their teams about downsizing and redundancy.

Furthermore, managers will face the challenge of re-inspiring and re-engaging those that remain, all against a backdrop of what is likely to be bewildering and unsettling for even the most change resilient individual. This challenge is further compounded by the “more for less” environment in which most public servants now find themselves – less resource, less time, less money – and yet an expectation of maintaining quality, if not improving it. And let’s not forget that these managers may not have a clear line of sight for their own future in the organisation.

One group of public sector managers who we have seen particularly exposed by the current climate are technical experts who have moved into leadership positions. In many cases, these individuals have been rewarded and promoted based on their technical ability with little support provided to develop their ability to lead others. In better times, the individual’s leadership credentials can be supported by their reputation as a technical expert. However, when tough times dictate that teams need transformational leadership, the importance of emotional rather than technical intelligence becomes vital.

In recent months, our Leadership and Management Development Practice has seen an increasing demand in requests to support technical specialists as they move into leadership roles. With a recruitment freeze across the public sector, more and more technical people are finding themselves, sometimes unwittingly, in leadership roles with limited leadership experience and an employee’s idea of the organisation’s overall goals and strategies rather than a leader’s understanding. This is a huge leadership challenge requiring a completely different mindset to managing in better times. Getting this transition right can speed up the development of effective leaders who feel confident and can quickly contribute in their new role.

But why are technical people sometimes challenged when making the transition to leadership roles? When speaking to our clients, it would appear that there are a number of characteristics typically shared by technical people which are strengths in their technical capacity but can become weaknesses in a leadership role.

Technical people tend to identify with their profession first and their job second

Ask a technical expert what they do for a living, and you’re much more likely to hear, “I’m an accountant” or, “I’m a lawyer” than to find out which company he or she works for. Similarly, we have found that there is a tendency for technical leaders to identify firstly with their technical specialism whilst keeping their role as leader as secondary priority. In some cases, they freely acknowledge not valuing the team-building activities and reward mechanisms that are in place to motivate and bond employees. A key challenge when moving into a leadership role can be to fully champion the organisation and engage their teams.

Technical people value autonomy

By the very nature of their technical expertise, technical people may see less benefit in the management role. They may prefer to manage themselves and want control over the conditions, pace and content of their work rather than leading other people. This may have developed through working for technical leaders who do not value leadership skills, thereby perpetuating a low priority on leadership.

Technical people have high achievement needs

Technical professionals are driven by a need to do difficult jobs well and to accomplish projects of major significance. They can be frustrated when their skills are under-utilised and they are concerned about their technical skills becoming out of date. When they can’t see the measurable impact of what they are doing, they may struggle to be motivated. Technical people need to have access to the latest technology and they need a chance to work on it to improve their skills. As a result, leadership responsibilities can be a serious distraction and technical leaders can find it a challenge to understand the value of non-technical team members.

Technical people are world-class networkers

Because they see themselves as members of a profession first and employees second, technical professionals keep in touch with their professional peers around town, around the country, and around the world. And they stay in touch on-line. The Internet provides them with the means to instantly broadcast information about what’s going on at work. For employers, this grapevine is a double-edged sword. If the technical people think it’s a bad place to work, they may share this with their peers. If one technical person leaves for greener pastures, there is a risk others will follow. Equally an inspiring technical leader can ‘sell’ an organisation within the technical community. As such, technical leaders may have significant challenges in building and maintaining team and individual loyalty to the organisation.

So what steps do technical people need to take to develop their leadership skills? In our view, there are six areas of focus:

Commit to the role of leader and establish a leadership brand

It is vital that technical experts make the proactive choice and the significant psychological leap to move from technical specialist to professional leader. Too often, technical people accept leadership positions as the only way to advance their career. However, becoming a leader should be viewed as an entirely new professional career, which requires the same amount of consideration as any other type of career transition such as the choice to move to a new organisation.

Adopt and develop a unique leadership style

Developing an authentic style and leadership brand is critical to being an effective leader. Once a technical specialist has made the proactive decision to become a leader, they are on a steep learning curve to develop the skills and experience required. In difficult times, leaders who have not committed to their role can reduce loyalty and motivation in their teams. A leader must understand their authentic style and where their authority comes from in order to have impact or create a positive environment.

Adding IQ to EQ

According to Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of Gallup in their 1999 article “How Managers Trump Companies”, people join organisations but leave managers. Whether you fully accept this contention or not, there are few people who haven’t experienced the de-motivating impact of poor leadership.

Daniel Goleman, the internationally renowned psychologist and author of “Emotional Intelligence” would put this down to, in many cases, a lack of EQ on behalf of the leader. One thing is for certain, technical specialists are not lacking in IQ but many need to develop their emotional intelligence to become effective leaders. The good news is that EQ can be measured and developed further with appropriate coaching and other group interventions.

Leading with Authority

Managers must understand what best practice leadership means in their organisation so that they can exercise their authority in accordance with their unique leadership brand. Critically, leaders need to understand how to lead through change and, in particular, how to deliver tough messages and have courageous conversations about changes that directly affect peoples’ working lives and livelihoods.

Particularly in tough times, it is important for managers to give clear direction and set standards for their teams. This is difficult to achieve without authoritative leadership. Think of this as the leadership equivalent of a firm handshake. Unfortunately, some technical leaders don’t understand where their authority comes from and end up leading with the equivalent of a limp handshake, lacking in confidence or conviction. Others may go for the over-zealous bone-crusher but this coercive style is rarely the answer.

Managing Performance

Mediocre performance cannot be tolerated. This is even more critical in light of the challenges posed by the “more for less” agenda which will require new ways of working and increase the pressure on performance and productivity. In our experience, tackling performance issues is not the preferred task of most managers let alone those lacking confidence in their leadership skills. However, good performance coaching skills and a clear understanding of how to effectively manage both high and low performers will help to ensure the team delivers rather than disables strategy.

Building a new career as a leader

In the same way that technical specialists must commit fully to a new leadership role, they must also understand that leadership is a new career which must be developed along with their technical knowledge. Leadership skills need to be developed and practiced and time and resources should be put aside to achieve this.

Organisations must not assume that outstanding technical specialists will inevitably make good leaders. In our experience, this is often not the case and the penalties for getting it wrong can be severe for the organisation and the mismanaged teams. Also, we mustn’t forget that the impact of a poor transition for the technical specialist can be devastating. Years spent in building a reputation based on their technical prowess can evaporate in weeks, if not days. Organisations must invest in the development of this oft forgotten cadre of managers.

George Griffin is Director of Leadership & Management at Penna (www.penna.com). He can be contacted by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This article first appeared in ACSeS' Firing Up the Passion for Leadership Excellence. To get hold of a copy (for a nominal £10 to cover production costs) contact the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors at Afon Building, Worthing Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1TL; telephone: 01403 788249; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .