This is a guest post by D. Scott Smith. He is the CEO of Earth Fortification Supplies Company and a board member for Pajaggle, Inc. He also held the position of COO for Gibson Holders and logistics operation manager at Hewlett-Packard. He holds a bachelor of science in finance from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University Of Phoenix.
Twitter: @d_scott
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dscottsmith
Blog: d-scott-smith.com
Are you a better Leader or Manager? Is one better than the other? You’ve heard, “manage processes, lead people” seems simple; yet defining a Manager is relatively simple, while defining a Leader is like putting words to emotion. If Management is prose, Leadership is Poetry. Much thought has been poured into the definitions; pounds of books have been written to define and develop Leaders. We need practical applications of the concepts to make our businesses and organizations better. Gleaning from the works of others we can compile practical and workable definitions.
The goal is to run solid organizations; Management and Leadership are tools to help us fulfill that goal. It is a natural conclusion that we need to understand the tools and how we (personally) use them. You might have strengths in one over the other; in that case you can develop your own ability to wield the tool, or if you have the resources – hire the skill. Conducting a personal evaluation requires the specific skills of Managers and Leaders be defined. The definitions provide a framework for us to gauge our relative abilities and determine where to find opportunities for improvement. [Read more…] about Management Or Leadership? Both!