I have devoted numerous posts to dispelling this attitude (See series starting here.), much like Don Quixote tilting at his windmills. (It’s not a new attitude; I’ve had a statue of Quixote and Sancho Panza for years:)

I was discussing this over lunch with several executives and voiced my thought that no manager at any level can function successfully in today’s climate unless she is a leader.

This brought forth a terrific response from a CEO that is well worth sharing.

“A manager who doesn’t lead is a bureaucrat.”

An astute, simple and very accurate statement for people who are, or aspire to be, in charge, no matter of what or at what level, to frame and hang on their walls.

If you don’t want to

• craft and share a vision of what, why and when {whatever} needs to happen and leave the ‘how’ to your team;
• share information openly and willingly;
• take the time to craft communications that can be heard and understood by all;
• help both your company and your team become all that they can be;
• shoulder the responsibility, but give away the credit; a
• think ‘them’ before ‘me’;

then you shouldn’t be in charge.

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Post from: Leadership Turn

That’s right, leadership skills and abilities are without prejudice, neither good nor bad—you might say they swing both ways.

According to Warren Bennis, a leader innovates, develops, focuses on people, inspires trust, has a long-range perspective, keeps an eye on the horizon, originates, and is his own person.

Does that sound like someone you’d like to emulate? Because it’s a perfect description of Bernie Madoff.

Leadership actions are a MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) function. In other words, it’s not the actions that are worth emulating, but the MAP.

Notice I said emulating, not copying.

Consider those people you respect, as well as those lower on your list. Even when you disagree with parts of their MAP, you may agree with others, which means you can draw from many sources, but in the end it’s your MAP and that makes it absolutely unique to you.

During this holiday season, think about it. The economic mess with which the world is dealing was created by people with great skills and, to be polite, challenged MAP.

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Post from: Leadership Turn

Last week we talked about being an original; now let’s look at something that underlies several of the items on Bennis’ list.

Among the 13 things that leaders do are investigate reality, ask what and why, and challenge the status quo. They may sound different, but the same action underlies each one.

The ability to do all three of these means that you do not make assumptions (the ‘A’ in AMS).

What will you find if you start your investigation from the viewpoint that certain parts have more validity than others?

How can you hear all the input when questioning the premise of an action if you are predisposed to hear one thing (or person) above another?

How can you challenge, let alone upset, what currently is if you blindly accept any of its underlying premises?

Typically, assumptions are buried in your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and require a heightened level of self-awareness to recognize them. With effort, it’s possible to build an automatic MAP monitoring system that sends a warning when assumptions start creeping into your actions. Remember, assumptions are insidious, sneaky and often masquerade as common sense/logical thinking.

For instance, you are assuming if you

• evaluate/judge a speaker based on looks, clothes, position, cohorts, even reputation;
• request information, but already have your position roughed out; or
• consider your ideology inviolate and not open to question.

Ridding yourself of assumptions is difficult; in fact, it’s one of the most difficult skills you’ll ever develop, but you can develop it by staying aware of your own thoughts and being brutally honest with yourself.

Assumptions blind you so you cannot see and deafen you so you cannot hear.

Now, repeat after me: “Assumptions are bad!”

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Post from: Leadership Turn

But, in fact, everybody needs them in today’s world; they’re the skills that help you live a better life, raise kids and make a better world—no matter who you are or what you do.

Many of my posts touch on the same facts, but we’ll zero in on more how-to information in this series.

Bennis says that “leaders are originals, whereas managers are copies,” but what does that mean to an individual?

Foremost, it means that you think for yourself, instead of buying into an ideology, religion or what parents, friends, colleagues or the commuter who sits next to you every day say.

That doesn’t mean that you always do things differently or ignore everything you hear, but it does mean that you reserve your right to question, modify and partly or totally reject whatever it is.

This isn’t always obvious. Most adults honestly believe that they are originals, but they forget that their MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) has been shaped since childhood by all those outside forces.

This is even truer of business and political leaders who are rarely original; rather they conform to a general pattern laid down by pundits, benchmarks, and expectations.

As an individual, your MAP is still your own. You can reject all or part of the external forces and, as it used to be said, ‘do your own thing’.

Being an original means that you choose what is best and what to do in each given situation; it means taking in all the wisdom, mundane advice and foolishness and synthesize them into the best decision that you’re capable of making.

As you’ve probably figured out, being an original isn’t the easy way to go. It’s far more comfortable to be a copy; to follow without question the ideology, religion, parents, friends—anyone or anything that takes away the fear of making the wrong choice.

I’ve always been an original, much to my family’s consternation when I was growing up, and to many of the bosses I’ve had since; I even adopted Frank Sinatra’s My Way as my personal theme.

I don’t really remember feeling scared as I careened through my early life doing what I thought was right, but I do know that I learned what my thought process was called when I was in my early twenties. From then on I did it consciously and it’s never let me down.

It’s that process that I want to share with you, because it works.

It’s called “worst case analysis.”

What you do is look at what you’re planning and think about the absolute worst thing that could happen if you do it. Then think through whether and how you would deal with that result. If you can handle it, then you go forward; if it’s too much you go back to the planning board. Works every time.

Do this, and at the end of your life you, too, will be able to say,

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

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Post from: Leadership Turn

It’s not unusual for me to come up with what I think will be a great post and then find someone else thinking about the same thing.

Last Thursday I was sorting through ‘leadership’ articles and blog posts, once again disgusted with all the references to ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ that had little to do with leading and much to do with position.

Suddenly the proverbial light bulb went on and I realized that I could actually define my version of leadership without using the l-word (I hate words that are defined using variations of themselves). I decided to let the idea simmer for a couple of days and see if it still looked good Sunday.

Then Friday I ran across Dan McCarthy’s post challenging his readers to define leadership as well as offering up a number of famous definitions.

Now that you’re primed, here’s my epiphany, feel free to shoot it down, tell me why and offer your own, but first some background.

On April 29 I wrote Leader/manager = leadager and followed it up with a seven-day series arguing that Warren Bennis’ statement “There is a profound difference between management and leadership…” doesn’t hold true with today’s modern workforce, i.e., great managers have to embrace Bennis’ leadership traits in order to motivate and retain their people.

OK, here’s my definition.

A leader is a great manger who is also a mensch.

What do you think?

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Post from: Leadership Turn

After all this talk about the need for managers to possess strong leadership traits, I have another question for you.

According to Warren Bennis’ list, a leader

• innovates;
• is an original;
• develops;
• focuses on people;
• inspires;
• investigates reality;
• long-range perspective;
• asks what and why;
• eye on the horizon;
• originates;
• challenges the status quo;
• is his own person;
• does the right thing.

What percentage of these traits is possessed by the people you see who are termed leaders?

“Influence” has become the hallmark of leadership. What percentage of these traits is possessed by those around you who influence?

We need to hear from you; your experience is invaluable.

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Post from: Leadership Turn

This is a summing up in a series discussing whether Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers still holds in light of today’s modern workforce.

In a comment on the prequel to this series Phil Gerbyshak said, “I agree wholeheartedly that great managers have BOTH qualities…though I know plenty of average managers who don’t have either. I’d like it required that managers have at least one half of Bennis’ qualities in order to lead a team. Is that too much to strive for?”

On day one Nii said, “Regarding the differences between a manager and a leader, I believe that the gap is closing between the two. In today’s global and technologically advanced world, managers still need to have the leadership qualities to succeed. They need to be able to take risks, inspire, innovate and challenge conventional thinking. Otherwise, they will be history.”

Day four Fred commented, “I believe to be a successful manager in today’s new work environment managers must posses the skills to be effective leaders and coaches in team oriented “open door” environments. Young employees entering the work force from High School or College do not possess the same work ethics of baby boomer’s. If managers attempt to train this new work force using the same tactics as we did in the past retention will suffer greatly. It is truly a kinder and gentler world we live in.”

I’m in passionate agreement with the consensus that managers need to marshal many so-called leadership skills if they plan to succeed today.

In a world where multiple job changes are both easy and acceptable the currency that buys loyalty isn’t money, rather it’s achieved by creating an environment that stimulates and satisfies each individual’s needs.

Finally, in a sister post over at Slacker Manager Nick McCormick says, “Too much is made of the difference between managers and leaders. I think we do it to make ourselves seem more important. “I’m a leader, not a lowly manager!”"

Amen, Nick. While management is what you do, leadership is the way you think. Great management is composed of equal parts leadership and accountability. True leaders are proclaimed as such by those around them, not by themselves.

The best way to find success is to work constantly at incorporating as many to Bennis’ 26 traits as possible into your skillset and your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and stop worrying about what you’re called.

What are your thoughts?

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Post from: Leadership Turn

Today is the the final difference between leaders and managers as delineated by Warren Bennis, then tomorrow we wrap up the question with an overview of the two roles in the light of today’s modern workforce.

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Great sound bite, but I think it’s both meaningless and insulting. Ignoring the fact that ‘the right thing’ is situational, why is doing it strictly the purview of leaders? Does doing the wrong thing correctly make it OK?

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Post from: Leadership Turn

This is the fifth in a series discussing whether Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers still holds in light of today’s modern workforce.

The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.

In today’s global workplace managers who concentrate exclusively on bottom lines and forget to look up are likely to trip and fall, just as leaders who don’t keep and eye on the bottom line may find themselves out on their bottoms.

The manager imitates; the leader originates.

What’s the manager imitating? The leader, in order to achieve her vision? How would that work. Can anyone imitate another and still be seen as authentic? If a manager could successfully imitate Steve Jobs, Jeff Immelt or Sam Palmisano wouldn’t that person morph into being a leader—who was also a manger?

What do you think?

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Post from: Leadership Turn

This is the fourth in a series discussing whether Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers still holds in light of today’s modern workforce.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

If a manager truly focused only on the next few days, weeks, or even months he would have little chance of challenging/developing his people, driving innovation and productivity in the department/group/team, or any of the myriad of things that most managers are responsible for in today’s world. Further, without a decent understanding relative to his position of the company’s long-range plans how can he manage efficiently.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

That may be true of a manger who follows blindly, but considering how often rank and file employees at all levels, especially knowledge workers, demand to know why they are doing something as well as why they’re doing it a certain way a manager who doesn’t ask those questions is probably in big trouble.

What do you think?

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Post from: Leadership Turn