The differences between leading and managing are subtle. What do you think of with these two words?
Here are some key differences annunciated in “On Becoming a Leader” by Warren Bennis:
“The manager administers; the leader innovates.
The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.
The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.”
Covey uses the analogy of a company trying to plow through the rainforest. A manager is constantly sharpening blades, researching new cutting strategies, and encouraging people to work harder. The leader climbs up the tallest tree and realizes they are in the wrong forest!
To lead you must be different. Bennis in the same book talks about effective U.S. presidents and how the good leaders were ones that didn’t do great things by dwelling on their limitations, but by “focusing on their possibilities” (Sounds a lot like the Wednesday Word on Strengths from a few weeks back!).
So I would encourage us to think and act uniquely! The most recent issue of Bloomberg mentioned a man who offers a few high school students $100k to skip college and start a business. A little extreme perhaps, but he’s doing things differently. If all that college has taught us is to think the “right way” or similar to everyone else, has our education really been worthwhile? Let me know what you think.
Source: Will May
No comments:
Post a Comment