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You are here: Home / Collaboration And Convergence / Order Taker Managers can’t Lead

Order Taker Managers can’t Lead

July 10, 2015 by Babette Ten Haken Leave a Comment

order taker managersYou are an order taker manager. Not by design. You had every good intention of putting your stamp on the future of the company that employs you.

You are an extremely talented and well-educated order taker manager. You’ve been around the management business block a time or two. You know your stuff.

You are champing at the bit to lead your team out of the darkness of What Was and Is and into the light of What is Possible.

Corporate leadership has turned you into an order taker, like your predecessor. You are stifled by corporate silos and limited mindset.

You were extremely jazzed about taking on your position. However reality has set in.

The functional role you deliver on is the hand-off of leadership strategy for execution by the folks you manage. Your functional role is a manager, albeit a high-level manager. Regardless of your job title.

You could be playing a critical role in leading your organization towards greater operational efficiency and profitability. You could be creating new markets and greater respect for your company by forging unique industry relationships.

Yet you are regarded as a manager. Leadership second-guesses and micromanages you instead of confidently letting you manage yourself and others. Instead of allowing you fulfill your role.

That is not healthy.

You realize your wings have been clipped. But just when did that happen? How did you allow it?

Your ability to allocate resources on projects to catalyze your team are thwarted. You have been relegated to Keeper of the Status Quo: an order taker manager.

You have a vision for your team. You are concerned that taking that first step forward, moving one millimeter out of your comfort zone, will be perceived as making an end run.

You are torn. You are more concerned about preserving your job than opening that can of worms.

You perceive human capital shortfalls and attitudinal obstacles to driving change in your department. You are ready to lead by example. You are ready to employ who you need today to build your company’s tomorrow.

Yet taking that risk, and opening that next can of worms, is daunting.

Your company has no sense of urgency to change a recipe from Yesterday that still seems to be working Today.

Except that you have vision. You can see what Tomorrow will bring.

You are proactive by nature. You are not comfortable when things are comfortable. You are hardwired to be a planner and strategist.

Your company is engaged in busy work. You foresee that sales are slowly slipping backward. Now is the time for proactive management on your part.

What will your choice be? Order-taker manager or manager-leader?
Take the next steps.

Planning your next team, corporate or association meeting? Searching for a one-on-one catalyst to get you unstuck? Engage me to present a One Millimeter Mindset ™ program! Delivered virtually or in-person. Contact me here.

Babette Ten Haken | Change Catalyst | Purpose-Driven Professional Innovation | Cross-Functional Team Leadership | Trust-Based Client Retention | In Person & Virtual Speaker, Consultant, Coach, Author |

Babette Ten Haken, Founder & President of One Millimeter Mindset™ Speaking & Consulting, catalyzes trust-based, purpose-driven, cross-functional leadership. She leverages Voice of the Customer and storytelling to translate across communication and collaboration disconnects impacting successful business outcomes across people and professional disciplines. Babette is a cross-functional business-oriented STEM professional, qualitative Voice of the Customer facilitator, and Six Sigma Green Belt (Quality). She is a member of the ASQ, SHRM, PMI, the National Speakers Association. Her playbook of cross-functional collaboration, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com. Contact Babette here. Image source: Adobe Stock.

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Filed Under: Collaboration And Convergence, Human Capital & Industrial IoT Workforce, Professional Development Tagged With: change management, HR professional development, human capital value, leadership, managers, one millimeter mindset coaching and facilitation programs, one millimeter mindset cross functional leadership keynote speaker, One Millimeter Mindset™ virtual programs, project management professional development, Quality professional development, Voice of the Customer

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