Dr. Jim Dyke "The Boss Doctor" ™ at The Center for Leadership Impact sent me an email about the difference between a manager and a leader. We often think of managers as leaders, but in reality, that is not always the case. Managers are people who are ORGANIZED and keep the business running smoothly; whereas Leaders are people who are FORWARD THINKERS and create ideas to keep the company moving forward. Here's his definition:
MANAGERS are responsible for the environment in which work takes place. They are custodians of structure, organization, protocol, and productivity. They organize the work and see that it gets done -- by others (DOERS). They are masters of the status quo.
LEADERS live in the future. They see where the organization and its people must travel in order to remain relevant in a changing world. They are sellers of vision and so they must capture the hearts and imaginations of their people in order to lead them forward. In reality, they actually shape the future!
EACH ROLE REQUIRES A SPECIFIC SET OF SKILLS:
MANAGERS act in a more relational environment. They must hire, set priorities, motivate others to do the work, and supervise performance. They are required to act in a broader context -- collaborating across organizational boundaries and divisions -- running interference for their teams; solving problems; and gaining the cooperation of colleagues.
LEADERS must divide their time between the status quo and the future. They choose managers and set appropriate standards and expectations. But they must also originate change and persuade and influence others to follow them into the future.
Here is the takeaway for all of us -- it behooves us to be very aware of which of these roles we are assuming in our work, and to effectively exercise the skills necessary for that role. The difficulty is that we are all challenged and pushed into any of these roles at various times --through circumstance; demands of higher-ups; the nature of our business.
[My thanks to author Charlotte Beers, who introduced these descriptions in a thoughtful article posted on the internet on December 11, 2012.]
For more info, contact Dr. Jim Dyke at www.leadershiptracks.com or www.TheBossDoctor.net .
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