“Leaders are born everyday in every one of us…Tapping into the leaders in your community gives you the fuel to make your vision a reality.”
Talk about books…There are more books about leadership than days in a year and yet we still have so many managers who have no idea how to truly lead.
Let’s start with the true definition of leadership:
Leadership is inspiring people to live the vision, mission and values of the organization and community. Great leaders understand that they are there to shine the light on others and they know that only then will the light reflect back on them.
And the greatest challenge of most people who take on leadership positions is that they think their skills as a manager are synonymous to being a leader. Actually the opposite is true. Managers facilitate people, process and product and they are there to implement the solutions to problems or strategies. Though management is a valuable skill of a leader, leaders understand that they are there to ask the questions that stimulate new and better solutions so the community has constant and never ending improvement as it owns it vision and mission.
Myth 1: There can really only be one leader.
This is hogwash. Leadership is a behavior not a position and the goal of any leader is to get as many people living the vision as possible. Within each person is a leader. A great community has depth of leadership. Leadership does not mean that no one is following. Actually when a community has leadership depth it actually creates an environment where members are happy to follow one another to towards the ever shining light. And the more people in your organization shining the light the stronger the brightness becomes.
Myth 2: Leaders are born not made.
Did I mention hogwash? Leaders are made everyday. People who lead step to the fore and make important things happen. Leaders participate in living the vision and you do not need to be the boss to make something important happen. Someone who does an outstanding job at their work and takes full responsibility to their community is acting like a leader. Someone who looks to find a better, smarter or faster way of making things happen is acting as a leader. Creating leaders throughout your organization is the goal.
Myth 3: Leaders tell people what needs to happen.
Actually leaders are smart enough to know that telling gets them no where. Leaders inspire people to see the future and how they best participate in it. Leaders empower people to make decisions that support the goals and vision of the community and ultimately bring solutions that are smarter. Leaders coach to build a community that is fully participating, responsibly and accountable. Leaders create buy-in at every level and ensure that each member of their community knows their contributions are important.
Myth 4: Leaders know the answers.
If you ask a leader they will tell you that the one thing they know is that the answer is somewhere within their community and that though they may participate in the solution they do not have all the answers. Leaders are humble enough to understand that if they know all the answers then they are not leveraging the gifts and talents of their people. Leaders understand that when they ask different questions they get new answers and that collaboration is imperative to their community’s success. Leaders know that just because they are at the front doesn’t mean they have the answer…actually it just makes them a better target.
5 Beliefs of an Outstanding Leader:
- Know that where you lead they will follow – if you don’t like where they are, take a look at where you are leading
- Your job is to inspire and coach them to live the vision and mission. Inspiration makes their heart and soul beat loudly.
- As a leader, you ask questions that help people find the answer(s) and make real solutions come to life.
- Leaders celebrate along the way. Celebration breeds energy and energy breeds more life.
- Leaders make you feel like you are the only person in the room. They allow you to believe that your contributions matter more than you ever imagined possible. And it is true. Leaders connect.
What are your thoughts on Leadership? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know! Want to continue the discussion? Hit me up on Twitter
One Response to “Leadership Skill Versus Management: Moving from Mediocre to Exceptional”
Great post! I liked your myths and beliefs!
In my recently published pre-teen novel, Ian, one of Santa’s Helpers, takes some training that could lead to a management job. During the training, he struggles to understand the difference between managing and leading. He soon finds out that management is based upon processes, order, and controls and that leadership is more about developing the potential in others. He likes the latter.
I think that it would be a step in the right direction if we were to teach some of the management and leadership concepts to our youth at an early age. Later on in life, they will be more receptive to change which is always happening in the business world, or in our lives, in general.
All the best!
Eric Dana Hansen, Author of “IAN, CEO, North Pole”
http://www.ianceonorthpole