Aremanagerstooinsecuretobeleaders?

ThatIthinkdependsentirelyontheorganisationalculturesurroundingthem.Most corporateorganisationsseemtopromotethosewhogetthejobdoneandgettheresults. Untilrecentlyitseemedthatpeoplewereexpendable.Loseone,getanother.InAusthereis askillshortageandIthinkthatwefinallyunderstandthatitissoundbusinesspracticeto mentorandcoachyourmanagersintoleaders.Toreviewbehaviorandteamsatisfactionas partofperformance. Iftheculturesupportsthisthenmostmanagersiftheyhavethedesirecanbecomeleaders. Therearewaysoforganizingyourtimetoensurethatyoucoachandmentoryourstaff.I workedfromhomeonedayaweekandthatwasmy'closeddoortime'mytimetoworkon thebusiness.Therestofmytimewasspentworkingwithmystaff. Ourmission,visionandvaluesclearlyarticulatethatourpeoplecomefirst.Mystaffcant careforclientsiftheydon'tfeelcaredforthemselves. Iftheculturedoesn'tunderstandthevalueofleadershipovermanagementthenthiswillbe seenasweakandtimewasting.
JenniferWeller

Alltoooftenwetrytoplaceareligiousoremotionalfaceonleaders.It'scounterproductive andcounterintuitivetodosounlesstheyareBoyScoutleaders.Inbusiness,itisimperative thatleadersunderstandthattheyareheretomakemoney,notfriends.

BobSchecter

Managingisdifferentthanleading.Tofigureoutwhy,readthedefinitions: Lead:toshowthewaybygoinginadvance;conduct;escort;direct. Manage:toexertcontrolover;makesubmissivetoone'sauthority,discipline,or persuasion. AmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage Justreadingthedefinitionsshowsthedifferenttemperamenttypesthatareattractedtothe differentrolls.Oneofthebigproblemsforcompaniesisthatfartoomanyseniorbusiness executivesaremanagersandnotleadersthuskeeplookingforpeoplewithskillssetslike theirown. HRdepartmentsspendagreatdealoftimelookingatwhatyou'vedone,andverylittleat whatyouarecapableofthuspeopleinamanagementpositionwhohavelittleopportunity

todemonstrateleadershippotentialWILLbeoverlookedinyoursearchforleaders,yetbe theidealcandidate.
AllenLaudenslager

Managersareleadersbydefinition.Irefertothemascoerciveleaderssincetheirpoweris directlyderivedfromtheirabilitytocoercepeopleintofollowingthembymanipulating rewards(salary,bonus,etc.)andpunishment(firing,badworkassignments,etc.). Theothertypeofleaderisaninspirationalleader.Whenafollowerthinksthatfollowing theguidanceofanotherpersonwillhelphim/herbetterachievehis/herpersonalgoals, thatotherpersonareaninspirationalleader.Usuallywhenwetalkof"leadership"ina philosophicalsense,wearetalkingaboutthecharacteristicsofinspirationalleaders.Onthe otherhand,whenpeopletalkofleadershipinacorporatesense,theyareusuallyreferring tothecharacteristicsofcoerciveleaders. Coerciveleadershipcharacteristicsandinspirationalleadershipcharacteristicsare mutuallyexclusive.Amanagercannotbeaninspirationalleaderandaninspirationalleader cannotbeamanager. JohnBrooks Ibelievethat,inthisdayandageofjobinsecurity,managerscannotbeeffectiveunlessthey arewillingtorealizethattheirjobisnotsecurenomatterwhatandjustbeagoodleader. Myobservationsarethatmostpeopleintoday'sbusinessclimatearemanagedforfailure ratherthanforsuccess.Managersdon'tgroomthepeoplebelowthemontheladderfor promotionsbecausetheyareafraidthattheywillbereplacedbythosepeopleiftheyare cheaper.Managersdon'tstandupforthepeopletheyaremanagingwhenhigherupsare unreasonablebecausetheyaretooafraidtolosetheirownjobs. Therewillalwaysbepeoplewhobelievethatyoucanonlyleadoutoffearandthosethat believeyoucanonlyleadoutoflove/respect.Eitherway,somearegoodandsomearebad. Whatisimportantisaclimatewherepeoplearetreatedwithrespectandnoonefeelsthat theirjobisinjeopardy24/7. RamaBeerfas Interestingquestion. Leadingandmanagingaretwodifferentroleswithdifferentskillsetsneededtobe effective.Mostpeopleinpositionswhereleadershipand/ormanagementskillsarecalled forhavesomecombinationofcompetencyfortheseroles. Thismeanswhilesomepeoplecaneffectivelyleadandmanage,otherscanonlydooneor theothereffectively,andsomepeoplewilldoneitherverywell.Therearelotsofvariations

onthistheme,dependentontheindividualsbackground,education,experience, behavioralpreferences,andculturalcontextandsoon. WhatyouaredescribingsoundlikeaTheoryXmanager(doesnottrustotherstowork effectivelywithoutnegativemotivation),andmyexperienceisthatmostpeopleareless drasticthantheexample.Fear,bytheway,doesnotguaranteesuccess,inmyopinion.It justinducescomplianceforaperiodoftime. JohnE.Smith Inreadingyourresponse,IhavetoadmitthatIdisagreewithacoupleofpremises: 1)Thatacriticalrequirementforaleaderistobeloved.Ithinkthatoneofthemostcritical aspectsofleadershipisprovidingavisionthatotherpeoplewanttobepartof.Inthiscase, theleaderneedstoberespected,credibleandauthentic.Somemaybeloved,someperhaps not. 2)Thatmanagerscanonlythriveinafearledorganization.Fearisnotagoodwayto manageandleadspeopletoprimarilyoperatebycoveringtheirbacksides.Thebest managersareveryinterestedinthesuccessoftheiremployeesandunderstandhowtotake thevisionfromaboveandexecuteiteffectivelythroughtheirstaff.Thestafflookstothe managerstolookoutfortheircareers,byprovidingthemopportunitiesfornewtraining andadvancement,recognizingtheiraccomplishmentsandbeingfair. Finally,frommyperspective,somemanagerscanlead(andsomecannot).Likewisethere aresomeleadersthatcanmanage(andsomethatcannot).Thereareseparatetalentsand skillsetsthatareneededtoaccomplishtheseseparatetasks.Someofthisisinnateand someofitislearned.However,themosteffectiveleaders(ormanagers)areskilledinthe otherdisciplines.Theseindividualshavethefullpictureandaremorelikelytobe comfortableinmanydifferentrolesinanorganization. JeffreyOtto Doingthethingsright,ratherthandoingtherightthingsisinmyviewtheveryfirst differencebetweenrespectivelyaManager...andaLeader. Inotherwords,beingaManagerdoesnotimplytobe/becomeaLeader. LudovicPetit,CISSP FrompreviousresponsesIwouldagreemostwithJeffrey. Ifullyagreethattrueleaderhavetoberespected,iftheyarelovedthiscouldbeabonus. FormanagersIagreetherearedifferentskillsrequired,howevertheyshouldalsoearn respectinordertoaccomplishtheirgoals.UnfortunatelymostofmanagerIknowandI

evenknownarenotleaders.Theworstpartisthattheyarenotleaders,eveniftheycould havebeenbecausenotthisisexpectedfromthem. Inmyopinionthemostfundamentalproblemintherespectofthistopicisthehuge pressureonpuremanagementskillsandlackofrequirementsforleadershipskillsinhigh levelmanagementarea.IsseemsthatmostcompaniesrequirefromCEOtobeanexcellent accountant...notabusinessleaderanddefinitelynotavisionary. Ialsounderstandbyaleader,apersonhavingabusinessvision,willingtoassumerisks,set direction,takedecisions.Itseemsformethattheseareexactlytheoppositeofwhatare askednowfromhighmanagement. Managersshouldunderstandrisks,includingthoserelatedtojobinsecuritybetterthat others.Theyshouldknowthathigheryouget,lowerisjobsecurityandtheyshouldassume this.Inreallifeyoucannotaskforhighrewardwithminimumrisks. Iagreehoweverwithoneinitialassumption,allthepressuretodeliver,pleasetheir superiors".Unfortunatelyahugeamountofmanagerseffortisspenttopleasesuperiors. Justthat,notpleasingsuperiorsbydeliveringbetterresults,whichwouldbenormal. Asasidenote,I'vereceivedonceacomplimentwhichhaspleasedmealot,evenifitwas intendedtobeawarning:thathighmanagementiskeepingmeinacertainpositiononly becausetheyneedme.Thatimpliedthattheydon'tlikeme,personally.The"strange"part wasthatalmostallmycolleaguesandfriendconsideredthisasathread...somethingtobe avoided. Idon'tintendtobedislikedbyhighmanagement,butwheneverIhavetochoosebetween beinglikedorbeingusefulI'llchoosethelastone. Doyouthinkthiswouldbeapplicabletomostmanagers? DanielSuciu Managerswho areteamplayers haveasoundunderstandingoftheirroleandit'stechnicalnature havethecapacitytolearnfromfailures areabletomanagebothpersonalandprofessionallives wouldbetheprimecandidateforleadershiprole. Elsetheywouldbeactuallyparasitesintheprofessionalworld. RandeepSingh

Justimaginetheidealmanagerasafootballcoach. Havetheyeverplayedfootball?Someyes,othersdon't. Isitaguaranteethatyouwouldbeagoodcoachifyouhavebeenaverygoodand recognizedplayerinthepast?No. Isitusualtofireafootballplayer?No. Isitusualtofireacoacher?Yes,so,playrisky. Whatdotheyhavetodo?Organizeateaminordertobeawinnerteam. Dotheyfeelfearfrominsidetheteam,i.e.,aplayercanfeartheirplace?No.Theyhave differentrolesandresponsibilities. So,inmyopinionwellsucceedingcompaniesaretheoneswhichhavemanagerswhoare inspiredandareallowedtobehavethisway,whichareaveryfewofthem.
SandeepKSood

IagreewithJohnSmithandJeffrey.Ibelieveatrueleaderisonewhoisnotaleaderoutof fear. Ibelieveitisnotnecessarythatallgoodmanagersrgoingtobegoodleaderstoobutithink agoodleaderhastobeagoodmanagertoo,agoodmanagerofhumans,otherwise howsoevergoodvisionorforesightonehas,he/shecanneverbeagoodandsuccessful leader.

SrgioA.S.Fernandes

Suggesting,assomedo,thatmanagersshouldonlybeconcernedwiththebottomlineis whytheyaremanagersandnotleaders.Leadershelpeveryonegetwhattheywant.All relationshipsshouldbemutuallybeneficialonesinwhichallpartiesgrowandgainreward. Managerscanmanagefacts.Leadersleadpeople.

KevinHarville

Aleaderisaverydangerousperson,especiallyifheorsheisaparticularlycharismaticone. Aleadercanpropagateideologies,reinforcedelusionsandpotentiallycanleadthe organisationtodoom.Suchaleaderwhetherloveledorfeardrivenmustbeavoided.Your questionseemstobebasedonthepremisethataleaderisahero,amessiah,someonethat peopleinanorganisationcanputtheirfaithunto.

Goodorganisationsdonothaveheromanagers.Theyhaveaculturethatcontinuously createsleaders,peoplewholeadatvariouslevelsandgrowtooperateathigherlevels. Suchleadersreflecttheethosoftheorganisationsandhavingproventhemselvestotheir bosses,peersandfollowersarenotdrivenbyfear,northeyneed"love"tosucceed. Inmyexperiencegoodmanagersdevelopingintoleadershavemoresuccessandhappiness comparedtothe"wannabeleader"types.

PankajRaiMehta

AManagersjobistomanage,beingaleaderisoptionalandbeinglovednottenable. Sure,reportshavefeared,butonlybecauseoffairness.MiddleManagersarebeingreplaced byautomationandtheworkenvironmentshouldnotbeasocialclub.

PhilLauro

Itotallydisagreewiththeideathatfearledorganisationsguaranteesuccessinfactit's totallytheopposite!Butitistruethatwhenevermanagersarebeingjudgedbasedon shorttermfinancialresultsonly,theyhaveaverystrongincentivetocreatesuchan environmentandcanweblamethem? Managersarepeople,onlypeople,andhumanbeingshavealwaysgonefortheeasy option...sowhentheincentiveisinthewrongplace,andtheeasywayisthere,whywould theybeexpectedtotakethehardpathandmakepeoplefollowthemoutofrespectand love,asyousay. Thereisalovelybookcalled"LeadingChangeManagement"publishedthisyearby Stanford,writtenbyHerold&Fedor,thatclearlyexplainswhyfearandevengood reputationarenotlongtermguaranteesthatpeoplewillfollow;it'sonlythequalityof relationshipsthatmakeleaderseffectiveonmediumandlongterm. PersonallyI'venevermetaleaderthatbasedhisworkonfearandlastedmorethan12 years;Ihavemettheopposite:leaderswhohavebuiltcompaniesbyusingtherelationships createdwiththeirfollowers. CristinaMihai Managerdoesnotequalleader. Leadersarecreatedbytheirfollowersandmanagersarecreatedbytheirsuperiors.
AnniePettit