Orchestrating Success
Orchestrating Success
Hugh Ballou
OS 018 - Stupid Leadership Traps #2: Managing vs Leading
9 minutes Posted Oct 19, 2016 at 9:00 pm.
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Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present, to live better in the future. - William Wordsworth

Profit is not about the money. This is leadership redefined.

Read the transcripts at hughballoupodcast.com

You manage things; you lead people. —Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

This

Leading-vs-Managing-300x225.jpg

is a curious debate. Many in academia use management as the title for business leadership programs. For example, a well-known large university in my town offers a degree in management in the business school and allows for a minor in leadership, which is under the college of life sciences and agriculture. Fortunately, the professor leading that program understands leadership and knows how to apply it in a practical way. I don’t feel that a degree in management qualifies a person to lead an organization, a team, or a project. Its basis is in other areas.

As Stephen Covey points out, we manage time and lead people…we manage money and lead people…we manage project implementation and lead people…we manage things and lead people. There is a distinct difference.

Managing people fits an autocratic leadership style and not a transformational leadership style. It can be a form of overfunctioning. Top down leadership that is autocratic minimizes the synergy of the team.

Here’s a simple chart of my thoughts on the differences:

Topic

Leader

Manager

Style

Transformational

Transactional

Direction

Engages

Demands

Conflict

Addresses

Avoids

Risk

Takes

Minimizes

Affirmations

Gives

Takes

Concern

Helps others to be right

Being right

Blame

Neutralizes

Blames others

Energy

Passion

Control

Power

Influence

Authority

Focus

Leading

Managing

Seeks

Consensus

Mandate

Decisions

Facilitates

Makes

Culture

Collaborative

Authoritative

Activity

Delegates

Micromanages

Horizon

Short-Term within Long-Term

Short-Term

Creates

Leaders on teams

Puppets

Engages

Followers

Subordinates

Rules

Uses principles

Uses rules

Pathway

Creates new

Uses existing

Systems

Utilizes

Avoids

Persona

Focus on vision and values

Focus on self

As you see, there is a significant difference in these two paradigms.

Effective leadership requires healthy self-esteem, confidence, and constantly evolving skills.

Hugh Ballou

The Transformational Leadership Strategist TM

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