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KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF
BUSINESS
Volume
78, September 2007
Publisher: © Key Associates, 2007
ISSN #
1545-8873
http://www.mkkey.com/
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This Issue: "Are You a Manager or a Leader?"
Contents:
GUIDING BY PERSUASION, LOGIC AND PASSION.
PROCESS AND SYSTEMS KNOWLEDGE.
ACKNOWLEDGING THAT EVERYONE HAS
A LEADERSHIP ROLE. CREATING MORE
LEADERS.
LESS MECHANISTIC, MORE HUMANISTIC.
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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Are you a leader, a manager, or a supervisor?
Possibly all three.
Management and supervision require leadership.
Leadership does not necessarily have to involve
supervision. The roles are differentiated by what
they focus on. They have nothing to so with style
or personality, charisma or character.
All of the literature about the distinctions between
managers and leaders, about whether one is better
than the other, about whether we need both, and
about whether organizations need more or less of
one or the other, miss the point.
The challenge is to figure out where the mix of roles
is for you and your organization, and then develop the
tools, techniques, and focus that you’re going to need
to fill those roles effectively.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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So what is the
difference in leaders and managers
and supervisors?
Let's look at Miriam-Webster:
Supervisor - One who is in charge of a particular
department or operation or unit.
Manager - An executive, administrator, or
supervisor who exercises direction.
Leader - A guide or conductor. A horse placed
in advance of the other horses of a team.
Does this confuse you? (It does me.)
The distinction seems to be a matter
of scope and focus.
Managing is about operations: maintaining, controlling, and
coordinating systems and processes. Leading is about
influencing, setting new strategic direction (e.g., vision)
and articulating what matters most to an organization
(e.g., values and principles)--i.e., orchestrating. Notice a
"control vs. influence" distinction.
Aren't leaders more important than managers?
There are sayings like, "Leaders do the right things.
Managers do things right." Another old adage is
"Leaders lead people, managers manage things."
And "Leaders direct; managers execute."
Warren G. Bennis said that "Leaders keep their eyes
on the horizon, not just on the bottom line." He also
said, “The manager does things right; the leader does
the right thing." Was it Covey who coined "straightening
the chairs on the deck of the Titanic?"
This website depicts some of the dichotomous thinking
http://www.detche.org/Resources/leader.htm.
There is an insulting tone that managers are somehow
less important than leaders. Both are essential to balance
the business of an organization. And each role needs
some of the others' skills.
What are some of those skills needed by managers?
The main focus of the management role is to maximize
the output of the organization through administrative
implementation, including functions like:
a. Planning
b. Organizing
c. Staffing/Hiring
d. Directing/Training
e. Coordinating
f. Reporting
g. Budgeting
h. Performance management
And the skills needed for leaders?
In our Leadership course,
we teach what we
consider to be the New Skills of Leadership:
a. Coaching and
Mentoring
b. Motivation and the Human Spirit
c. Engendering Trust and Integrity
d. Systems Thinking
e. Visionary Planning
f. Working in Your Culture
g. Teaching and Learning
h. New Ways of Communicating
i. Developing Teams
j. Managing Conflict
k. Leading Change
l. Renewing Your Own Spirit, and
m. The Power of Celebration.
The course content is appropriate for all leaders,
and this includes everyone.
Did Deming separate the roles?
W. Edwards Deming used the terms leader and manager
interchangeably. In his "Attributes of a Leader," he added
two ideas I like:
"Focuses on the customer, internal and external" and
"Removes obstacles to joy in work."
He was also believed that you could not manage (lead)
processes that you did not understand--doing so would
result in managing only "by the numbers."
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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
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Basic guide to leadership and supervision
http://www.managementhelp.org/mgmnt/prsnlmnt.htm
Free management training programs and lesson plans
http://www.managementhelp.org/gen_rsrc/free-training.htm
Former Keyzines on related topics:
Volume 1, April 2001-
Leadership
Volume 27,
June 2003 - Facilitative Leadership
Volume 35,
February 2004 - Employees as Customers
Volume 73, April
2007 - Principled Leadership
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ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS
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Bruce, Anne. Leaders:
Start to Finish. ASTD, 2001.
Bennis, Warren & Joan Goldsmith, Learning
to Lead:
A Workbook on Becoming a Leader. Basic Books, 2003.
Davis, Brian L et al. Successful
Managers Handbook:
Development Suggestions for Today's Managers.
Personnel Decisions, 1996.
Gatto, Rex P. The
Smart Manager's FAQ Guide:
A Survival Handbook for Today's Workplace. Pfeiffer,
2000.
Kouzes, James M. & Posner, Barry L. The
Leadership
Challenge (3rd edition), Jossey-Bass, 2003.
Kotter, John P. "What Leaders Really Do," Harvard Business
Review (Cambridge, May-June, 1990).
MacNamara, Carter. Nuts
and Bolts Guide to Leadership
and Supervision in Business. Authenticity Consulting, 2002.
Northouse, Peter G. Leadership:
Theory & Practice.
Sage, 2006.
Payne, John & Shirley. Management
Basics: The How-To
Guide for Managers. Adams Media Corporation, 1998.
Zaleznik, Abraham. "Managers and Leaders: Are
They Really
Different?," Harvard Business Review (Cambridge,
March-April,
1992).
