Rise Above the Title: Tips to Shift From Accidental Manager to Visionary Leader 

According to a report from the Chartered Management Institute, about 82% of managers are accidental. Consequently, the business landscape is often populated by individuals who have stumbled into their roles by chance rather than by design: they have no skills, no formal training, no consistent practice, and absolutely no vision to lead. 

And here comes the first question: What can you do to be more than an accidental manager?

The most important thing would be not to get fooled by the thought that five social-media gurus who spend their days advertising their course across Facebook, X, and Instagram as “the ultimate secret to becoming a visionary leader” can truly teach you something. The only thing they could give you is a monster migraine when you reminisce about how you spent an enormous amount of money for promises of success that lack substance and power. 

Moving to the second question: What do you think of when you hear the word “visionary”?

It could be Martin Luther King or Ratan Tata, but let’s not lose track. After all, the point of this article is to help you become a visionary leader within the walls of your company. So, at its core, becoming a visionary manager is a mindset and group of behaviours that can be effortlessly (or not) learned and cultivated. Dare to challenge your assumptions and open your mind. 

Now, let us explore the mindset shifts you must embrace and the initial steps you can take to demonstrate that you’re not only qualified but the ideal fit for your company. 

Embrace Failure as a Stepping Stone

Failure should be perceived as an opportunity for mental and emotional fortitude rather than a sign of weakness. Or, if your mind really does operate in non-conventional ways, you could accept failure as a sign of weakness, as long as it serves as a revelation that even if you still don’t have what it takes, through hard work and mental gymnastics, you will grow, eventually. Failure does not define you. A bad day does not mean you are a bad manager. A lost argument does not show you’re unqualified. An unhappy customer does not end your career. The only way in which failure can damage your potential is if you let it turn into blame, negative self-talk, and regret. 

Why agonize over the things you could have done better when you can think of the things that you can do from now on? Failure means experience, and experience leads to success. 

Improve Emotional Intelligence and Critical Thinking 

Leading a sustainable business means more than offering generous paychecks, urging the need to consider how your decisions affect the employees, and how to anticipate and (hopefully) solve team morale issues. As a business manager, in the long term, you have to empower yourself to act in a proactive manner, processing a situation’s emotional and logical aspects. Impulsive decisions and tension-driven remarks are the opposite of emotional intelligence and typically minimize your chances of keeping the company profitable and your efforts to keep the staff happy. 

Emotional intelligence seems to be the answer for continuous success. This way, you can address concerns, handle unforeseen situations with more resilience, offer support, and relieve the anxieties within the team. 

Learn the Art of Mastering Time 

As a business manager who wants to achieve maximum productivity and inspire through their actions, you have to prioritize the importance of delegating and optimizing your time. Despite the cinematographic industry, which often romanticizes chaotic business schedules, time management is key to unlocking more fulfilling opportunities. This is not about rigidly assigning every minute of your day, but you can consider the following tips:

• Plan to create a more productive workplace.
• Conduct weekly reviews. 
• Use tools such as Timesheet Portal. 
• Focus on a single task.
• Say NO occasionally. 
• Block out distractions. 
• Leave space between tasks. 
• Prioritize activities. 
• Learn to delegate. 
• Get enough rest.

Be Intentional About Company Culture

A reliable business manager is in charge of developing a cohesive vision and direction within their company’s policies, implementing conscious company values and motivators into a cultural environment that underpins overall decisions and interactions. When a group of people comes together, it is inevitable that their habits will not merge, and consistent behaviors form what we call culture today. 

If you provide your employees with support and encourage them to support one another, you can easily create a resilient company culture that gravitates toward empathy and compassion. Furthermore, you can promote a work ethic as part of your company culture by developing a rewarding system for achieving key performance goals. This way, you can reinforce positive behaviors and boost employee engagement, ensuring that your employees’ efforts are valued and recognized. 

Invest in Professional Development 

Part of being a visionary leader is fostering a growth-oriented mindset for your team and yourself. You can contribute to an ambitious company culture by providing your team with opportunities for professional development and ensuring they remain aware of current industry trends and technological updates. 

To build an effective professional development strategy, you can consider the following techniques:

• Create a mentoring program. 
• Pay for team members to attend industry conferences. 
• Plan certification workshops. 
• Schedule experts to give presentations at work.
• Develop information-sharing practices. 

Concluding Remarks 

In short, the most common traits of visionary leadership include persistence, courage, strategic planning, communication, organization, optimism, focus, collaboration, innovation, emotional intelligence, and, last but not least, authenticity. Also, you should know that embracing a magnetic personality may also be the secret of success, as there is no better way to bring out the best qualities in others than leaving them with an optimistic feeling about themselves. Be welcoming, open, and kind. Don’t compromise your values for financial gains, and stand still in the face of failure.