While it is easy to associate leadership with perfection, there is a lot to be said for leaders who show up as authentic human beings that still have a lot to learn. Today's guest is Ben Vance, and he joins us to talk about how this approach to leadership informs his role as Director of Business Valuation and Transaction Advisory with Postlethwaite & Netterville. Our conversation starts on the difference between management and leadership, and Ben makes some critical distinctions. For Ben, management is all about ensuring a project is perfect and delivering it on time. In contrast, leadership is more interpersonal and thus more complex and more challenging to get right. Ben tries to see himself as a constant student in the art of leadership, and he talks about the value of accepting that we won't get things right the first time around when it comes to leading people. This aspect of admitting our shortcomings is a crucial part of being authentic, and it is authenticity that helps us empathize with, connect to, and motivate our staff better at the end of the day. Ben also shares some valuable points about the challenge of knowing when to take command as a leader versus letting staff make mistakes and learn on their own. Another key subject from today is how to stay motivated and keep up a spirit of learning once we master our professional roles' technicalities. We cover a lot more ground on the complex subject of leadership today, so be sure to tune in for the whole conversation!

Key Points From This Episode: 

• The difference between management and leadership.
• Why being a good leader is a continuous learning process.
• The deadlines and deliverables of management versus the people business of leadership.
• Being a manager requires being perfect, while being a leader is about being comfortable with not being perfect.
• The leadership style Ben advocates for of giving his employees agency.
• Knowing when to take control versus give employees the space to fail and learn.
• The value of downtime for leaders and knowing when to give it to employees.
• Learning leadership lessons by going through cycles of stress and recovery.
• How Zoom calls in the pandemic have allowed people to show more authenticity.
• Being a more empathetic leader by remembering people have a lot going on in their lives.
• Knowing when to prioritize family versus work: an essential leadership skill.
• How to overcome decreasing satisfaction and stay energized.
• The mindset piece of good leadership; being mentally prepared for the challenge.
• How much better of a leader one becomes by being authentic.

Ben Vance on LinkedIn
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