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.
Management
Plenty of books and websites are available which provide definitions of Management. Standard definitions of what it means to be a manager are clear and generally accepted. The four basic functions of Management: 1. Plan; 2. Lead; 3. Organize; and, 4. Control.
- Plan: Deciding what will be accomplished and how to measure results;
- Organize: Deploying resources to meet the plan;
- Lead: Implementing or executing to meet the plan, follow-up to ensure the goals will be met;
- Control: Monitoring progress of the actions, making adjustments to resource utilization, or the plan.
Leadership
The definition of Leadership is elusive; business books do not have the functions simply and clearly defined. Many great minds have put thought into capturing qualities, traits, or actions of leaders; but not always practical. We need intentional Leadership. Dictionary definitions become circular, using the term to define the concept, sounding something like: a Leader is a person who Leads; or, Leadership is defined by position: the Leader is the one in front.
These explanations leave us wanting more substance, something we can identify and develop in ourselves to be more effective. We need clearly defined functions we can apply to our lives and businesses. Here are definitions which resonate with my experience:
Leadership is about articulating visions, embodying values, and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished. (Richards & Engle, 1986, Transforming Leadership)
Leadership is the lifting of a man’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a man’s personality beyond its normal limitations. (P.F. Drucker, 1955)
The capacity and will to rally people to a common purpose together with the character that inspires confidence and trust. (Field Marshall Montgomery)
Leadership Captured
The simple and practical functions of a Leader are: 1. Communicate Vision; 2. Inspire Greatness; 3. Build Trust; and, 4. Move to Action.
- Communicate Vision: It is not necessary for the Leader to create the Vision. This particular skill is the ability to reach out into the future, grab hold of the possibilities and bring them into the present; to let the team members understand their actions today make that imagined future possible by their work today;
- Inspire Greatness: The Leader is going to push, like a coach pushing an athlete to ever greater achievements. You have the responsibility guide people to do more than they thought they were capable of accomplishing;
- Build Trust: The responsibility does not end when trust is built between the Leader and the team; rather, when the culture of the organization fosters trust between all team members;
- Move to Action: This is your report card as a Leader. The final step is moving from a concept or idea to an action; if people are not Acting and Executing, you are simply an inspiring speaker. As our friends in the Angel Investment world note, they do not invest in ideas – without successful implementation the idea is worthless. Edison is often quoted on his formula for success, which is heavily weighted toward action (by 99 to 1 of Perspiration to Inspiration).
Intentional Leadership
Are you a better Leader or Manager? Large organizations have the ability to hire for a specific skill or need; small companies rely on the multi-dexterity of the senior team (which may be a team of one as a solo-preneur). We also understand Leadership is not reserved for owners or executives – every person has a Leadership role at some point in their organizations.
Be intentional. You already create a process to manage your business, department, or other area of responsibility; you are intentional about Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling. We can also be Intentional Leaders at any level. Everyone has the opportunity to lead; being intentional about Communicating Vision, Inspiring Greatness, Building Trust, and Moving People to Action will help you be an effective Leader.
© D. Scott Smith 2011
Leading Or Managing: What Role Are You Playing?
By; Roger M. Ingbretsen
Even though they are often interchanged, the terms management and leadership are distinctly different. There are countless articles written on the subject of leadership and management. There are many articles on the differences between leadership and management. This article will clearly explain when you are in a leadership role… or a management role… This is important because if you have organizational responsibility, which involves people, most often you will both lead and manage. How you play the management role and/or the leadership role is key to success.
The role you play quite simply boils down to what is your focus. What are you trying to accomplish? In a traditional approach, a manager is a person who plans, controls, directs and organizes a project, group or department to attain specific objectives. A leader is a person who guides, influences and takes people and organizations to places they would normally not go on their own. Managers are typically compliance driven while leaders are most often performance driven. Quoting Warren Bennis from his book “On Becoming a Leader,” “Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing.” As pointed out by several studies the core activities of a manager and leader are simply different.
I believe the above points are right on target, but how does knowing that, help you have a greater positive impact on your organization. If you learn to recognize from hour to hour, day to day, week to week what “role you are playing” – leader or manager – you then become aware of how to best use your innate strengths, talents and skills so they can have the greatest impact.
A ”role” can be described as the expected behavior you exhibit for a given position or situation. Are you acting like a leader and painting a vision for others to follow or are you managing things that must be done? Once you mentally have a good grasp on the scene, then you can bring the right behavior and strengths to bear so you can obtain the best results. In a given situation put your-self in the minds of people, what are they expecting from you, solid management or great leadership. How do you believe you should act in various situations? If you are clear on the problem or opportunity you are working on it will quickly become clear what role is the best fit.
Remember, management and leadership are two distinct and yet two very complementary actions required for success in our increasingly volatile and complex business environment, The following chart is provided to help you know which role you tend to play on a daily basis.
The following list describes the roles, (strengths) of the typically “good supervisor/manager” and the typically “good leader.”
This is to help you understand the role you play most often.
Where do you presently focus 80% of your daily time?
Managers
I manage the present
I am compliance driven
I am efficient
I do things right
I enforce the policies
I monitor people
I train specific skills
I perpetuate consistency
I follow a vision
I react to customer problems
I am focused on procedures
I am analytical
I am risk-averse
I am transactional
I seek stability
I focus on optimization
I base power on authority
I focus on details
I communicate top down
I follow the plan
I am reactive
I think short term
I focus on managing work
I focus on efficiency
Leaders
I focus on the future
I am performance driven
I am effective
I do the right things
I make the policies
I inspire people
I educate, mentor and coach
I am a change agent
I create the vision
I anticipate customer needs
I am focused on concepts
I am intuitive
I am risk-taking
I am transformational
I seek change
I focus on Innovation
I base power on influence
I focus on the big picture
I communicate persuasively
I set direction
I am proactive
I focus on the long range
I focus on leading people
I focus on creativity
As you can see, managers and leaders play complimentary roles, that can both facilitate disciplined consistency and inspire innovative growth. Both roles appear to be very specific and, in a typical hierarchical organization, they most often are. However, consider the potential when all of the strengths described are blended within a team of people rather than focused on one or two people. This concept begins to bring the management role up making it more inclusive and at the same time pushes the leadership role down into the organization allowing more leadership to take place. This “distributed management/leadership model” allows almost everyone to share in being a manager and leader depending on the situation and his or her talents and capabilities.
The above table provides the differences between management and leadership roles and it should be pointed out that there is a whole range of role application between both ends of the scale. Yes you can both manage and at the same time lead. It is a matter of being clear on what you are attempting to accomplish so you can apply the best approach. It should also be noted that organizations must not be over managed and under lead. This leads to an organization that is only focused on sustainability and ignoring the importance of growth.
If you are a one person consulting company you will continually vacillate between being your own visionary leader and doing all the planning and tasks required to run your business. If you are a part of a large organization, you will for the most part be delegating many actions to those you manage and be able to operate in more of a leadership role. The point is, there is a strong chance that you will play the role of manager and leader within virtually any type of organizational structure.
Both management and leadership are important and needed to help people, teams and organizations be successful. Leadership and management are not about title, rather they are about the “roles” you play while working with others to accomplish something of importance. That is why it is important to be clear on the “role you are playing.”
About Ingbretsen Consulting LLC:
Coach and author Roger M. Ingbretsen is a certified executive coach and organizational developer, He provides organizational and career guidance to professionals, managers, supervisors and all individuals looking for “real world” career development and business information. His entrepreneurial approach will help you learn how to plan, lead and succeed in your career. Roger is the creator of the “New 2012” Leadership Development Coaching Experience©” and author of the personal development reference eBooks, “Students, Plan Your Career Now: The Survival Guide for the American Workplace” and “Master Your Career: Proven Strategies for Career Success©.” To know more and claim dozens of Rogers FREE articles go to http://www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.