Are You A Leader-Manager?
Today, American business is shifting. In the name of efficiency and profitability companies are implementing process improvements, changing business models, navigating acquisitions, and in some cases new leaders are hired to get the job done.
The Harvard Business Review states that most US corporations are over managed and under led. They need to develop their capacity to exercise leadership. HBR goes on to affirm that leadership doesn’t work without management, and in fact, that scenario could be disastrous. The biggest challenge is finding the delicate balance between leadership and management. Understanding the difference is the first step.
Many feel that there is a pendulum swing between leadership and management. When companies need to change quickly they promote managers to increase process and profits. When they want to develop and engage people and invent the future, they promote leaders. Wrong and wrong.
Management is about coping with complexity. Without good management, complex enterprises become chaotic in ways that threaten their very existence. Good management brings order and consistency to the quality and profitability of products.
Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change. Part of the reason it has become so important in recent years is that the business world has become more competitive and volatile. The result is that doing what was done yesterday, or doing it 5% better, is no longer a formula for success. Major changes are necessary to survive and compete effectively in this new environment. More change always demands more leadership.
Let’s take a look at what great leaders do that separates them from those who are really managers promoted to a higher level. Lou Tice has worked with and studied some of the greatest leaders in the world. He believes that the common thread in the great ones is how they naturally develop those around them and teach them to be leaders too.
Great leaders earn the trust of those who follow them. They respect the unique talents and worth of every individual, and can step aside to allow someone more qualified to take the lead when the situation calls for it.
Andrew Carnegie defined leadership as finding a lot of people smarter than you and staying out of their way. Colin Powell insists that great leaders must value people and honor values.
In times of peace, a good manager can keep the armed forces lean and mean. In times of war, we must have good leadership at all levels. No one has figured out how to manage people effectively into battle. They must be led.
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