Internet Marketing

Leadership Vs. Management

This is the start of a series of articles that I am writing on Leadership. This might seem like a strange place to talk about Leadership although I believe no matter what endeavour we take on if we are to be truly successful we have to become good leaders. Lets take this journey I am on to be successful in Internet Marketing, at this point I am doing most everything on my site myself, I post, I update, I send emails, I write articles and original Ebook material. I don’t need a help desk yet, but as I grow that will change. As I grow and expand I will be either taking on help from outside vendors or by hiring in house help, to be successful at this venture I must be a good Manager so I get the things that need to be done, done. To be successful and be of value to my readers and others who look to me for information I must be a good Leader.

 Above I talked about both Management and Leadership. I find people have a trouble distinguishing the difference between the two. The first thing to remember about the differences is very easily stated

 You Lead People…… You Manage Things……

 This is a very easy statement to say but I find so many people who thing they are Leaders and are leading, what they are actually doing is management.

Leadership and management are both important but they seek to accomplish different goals. Leadership is much more than getting through all the day to day trials and tribulations of the day this is management. Management deals with administrative “things” while leadership deals with people. However both management and leadership are both important in the workplace and the ability to Lead and manage spell trouble. We must be competent in both management and leadership to be successful. Management contributes successful leadership and leadership contributes to successful managing. Leadership and management overlap but they are not the same. Leadership and management are terms that are often confused as the same and used interchangeability. Neither is identical in definition, meaning, application and in practice.

 Leadership is intellectually simple, but behaviorally complex, Instinctive leadership is based on accumulated wisdom shaped by experience, knowledge and a set of core values.

 To become a successful leader you must have a set of core values. Ask yourself what are my core values? If you don’t know what your core values are, take time and figure out what those are. Now there are two types of core values, there are your personal core values and there are business core values, some of these overlap and some are specific to one or the other.

 To help give you a place to start I would like to start by telling you my core values when it comes to business. (These are not in any particular order)

• Exceeding customer expectations – I believe in giving my customers, (whether it is my students, my trainees or my online customers), superior value, and customer service and always provide more than what they expect. I am always working towards their success. If the people I work with succeed then I succeed. 
• Continuous Improvement – I believe in what I call CANI which stands for Continuous and Never Ending Improvement. I am always looking for ways I can become more proficient in my abilities. As a trainer I am always reading, learning and practicing. As a Martial Arts Instructor I am always looking for ways to teach my students more efficiently, making sure they learn more than just techniques. 
• Attention to Detail - We must organize work in a manner that assures nothing is overlooked. Practicing “doing it right the first time”. This is done by creating detailed plans, inspecting the work created and then taking full responsibility of the outcome. 
• Proactive Thinking - This is thinking ahead and anticipating changes and then recommending ways to meet the new need. I tell the associates that one of the reasons they have a manager is because they are there to answer questions and create solutions to problems. I will then challenge them to have a proposed solution when they go to their manager with a problem. It may not be the solution that is used, although it shows a willingness to think proactively. 
• Sense of Urgency - If I am going to complete projects on time and be ready to do what is necessary in this ever changing work environment. I must be able to respond quickly and correctly as the situation demands. 
• Teamwork - I believe in cooperation among all members of my team, my class or a training session. To be successful I must utilize appropriate interpersonal skills and listen to my team.

 My personal core values are a little different than my work, although most of these are included in one way or another. So before going any further take some time and discover what your core values are. Once you have those core values continue reading.

 Now that we have our core values lets talk about a couple of Leadership myths.

What makes a great leader? Is it temperament, or their style, one can spend a lifetime attemptin to decode this topic. The one thing to remember is that every great leader makes the utmost of their natural talent and strengths. Successful leadership is not mastering strokes of genius, it is not about daring gambles or high stakes risks. Leadership is about unbending integrity, never ending courage, good sense, and a balanced mind that is fixed on a common purpose.

 Today supervisors must wear both hats, they often adminstrate processes, as well as inspire people towards personal growth. Every great leader must incorporate managerial elements into leadership practice. Leadership is about doing what is right and good for both individuals and the organization.

 Leadership is the strongest force in the universe, yet it remains a paradox as the most invisibly obvious of all human behaviors.

 There is not a leadership gene, a master template or a stereotypical leader. Successful leaders have widely differing personalities and mindsets, attitudes and temperament, visions and values, strengths and shortcomings, talent and skill sets, curiosities and interests. What successful leaders do have in common is towering character, contagious passion, sturdy common sense, a balanced mind, and an unwavering commitment to mission, execution and continuous improvement of people and process.

 Leadership Myths: The following myths about leadership still run rampant today

Some people are born leaders – This is not true, leadership is a learned behavior.
Leadership is rare skill - Once again Leadership can be learned.
Everyone is well-suited to lead – I think we have all met people who have not business leading others. There are people who are happy being followers.
Everyone wants to lead - Once again there are many people who are more than willing to be lead.
Rank + Title = Leadership Status - We have all met people who have a title or rank and have absolutely no business being in a leadership role.
Promotion to a leadership position validates leadership capacity - People get promoted all of the time who may be good managers, but have no idea how to lead. These people also believe because they have been hired on or promoted that they are leaders.
Jobholders are happiest when mediocrity is acceptable - Wow, I don’t have a clue what to say about this one.
Avoiding tough choices is masterful leadership - Here is another one, I don’t know what to say. Leaders show their true worth when things are tough.
Standing on the shoulders of others is the fast track to getting ahead - Unfortunately this is actually true way to many times. This is how non-leaders do get ahead.
Leadership exists only at the top of an organization - Leadership happens at all levels of an organization. This is what makes an organization ultimately successful
Once occupying a leadership position, no further study or development is needed - This is one of the biggest falsehoods. As with everything that happens today, leadership changes, roles change, we must continue to learn, grow and practice new ways to better serve our people and our organizations
Leadership is about controlling, directing, prodding, and manipulation - This one blows my mind. Leaders, lead, non-leaders control through negative reinforcement, prodding and especially manipulation.

I think this is enough information to get us started thinking about leadership. In my next post we will talk about leadership styles and how each of these styles work with the people these leaders lead.

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Tags: Alex Jeffreys, Coaching, Coaching with Alex, Core Values, Leader, leadership, Management, Manager, successful leadership

This entry was posted by Thom on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 12:13 am and is filed under leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.