Making the Transition into Leadership
In every department, there are workers, followers, managers, and leaders, all of who are at various levels in their careers. You need all types, from entry level to senior level, to make a department run efficiently and continue growth within. Many career-oriented professionals work hard to move into a leadership position, so how do you make the transition?
Googling professional qualities for leaders reveals many key qualities including being a visionary, dedication, creativity, openness, humility, integrity, and assertiveness. Sense of humor was also found as a redeeming leadership quality. To be a leader, people need to like and respect you, or they won’t follow.
How does one become a leader, or should I say, how does one become a leader in payroll? Payroll professionals, by nature, are detail-oriented, process-oriented, knowledgeable, communicative, and often dedicated. This is a critical job for any organization, and there is no room for error. Every year, the American Payroll Association (APA) selects a “Payroll Man & Woman of the Year” at its annual Congress. Last year’s winners were chosen for their leadership, dedication and love for payroll. Both winners are active in the APA, from participating in educational courses to volunteering their time for various committees. One of the recipients started his own state chapter several years ago and it is now a strong organization. Leaders have clear visions and are able to communicate with others to get the vision accomplished.
When you look objectively at your role in your department, are you a leader, a manager, or are you working your way up? Many managers find they are not true leaders. Managers are great for developing a structure based on objectives. Managers are knowledgeable about their industry or field, and they are often dedicated individuals. But, what sets apart a manager from a leader? I think it is the vision.
What is a good example? A leader is proactive in his or her approach to implementing best practices or making other department or organization enhancements. A leader will see areas for improvement and find a solution. If your payroll specialists are literally hunting down timecards to make sure they are in on time, then this is not a best practice. Or, if employees are not accurately tracking absences, or absence management is becoming an issue, the leader will come up with a plan. A manager, on the other hand, may wait for a leader to tell them what the project is before working on the project.
The leader role can envision a solution for controlling absence management, which can be a major issue for any organization. When employees don’t track time-off accurately, they are stealing money from the company, which can literally cost employers thousands of dollars each year. There is also the situation of having employees with frequent unscheduled absences, which can also cost employers thousands because it interferes with daily operations. Automation is a solution.
To solve an issue like absence management, the project will most likely involve implementing an entire new process. This is a large undertaking. If the current process is manual, then you’re looking at automating the process. If your current process is automated, then it looks like you need a new system. Either scenario will require a major process change to track accruals and absences as well as have the scheduling functionality to quickly find a replacement for unscheduled absences to make sure the organization has the required resources for operations. As this would affect all employees within an organization, you need a leader to drive this change. A leader has a clear vision of the solution, so he or she can easily communicate the project with the team and gain buy-in from all parties involved.
So, what makes a leader? A leader displays humility, gives people credit, is open to new ideas, is fair, and has integrity—a leader is someone who people want to follow.
