Marketing Definitions
Are you a manager or leader?
To find out, let's
start with the Oxford English Dictionary:
Manager: "a
person controlling or administering a business."
Leader: "a
person who causes others to go with him, by guiding and showing the way; guides
by persuasion and argument."
And a quote that
provides a useful comparison:
"Leadership
is often confused with other things, specifically management. As I see it, leadership
revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring
people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation. One can't
lead unless one can leverage more than his own capabilities . . . You have to
be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on
top of them with a checklist - that's management, not leadership."
John Sculley
Notice the difference
in the words being used - controlling, sitting on top of someone, administering,
as opposed to causes . . . . by guiding, showing the way, inspiring, direction,
goals.
To focus this even
more, let's look at a list of contrasting words that describe more fully still
the differences between managers and leaders.
MANAGERS
administer
are a copy
maintain
systems/structure focus
control
short term
how/when
bottom line
imitate
accept
good soldier
do things right |
LEADERS
innovate
are an original
develop
people focus
trust
long-range
what/why
horizon
originate
challenge
own person
do the right thing |
John Adair, a British leadership guru, continued to explore these distinctions
by going back to the etymological roots of the two words.
Lead is from
an Anglo-Saxon word, meaning a road, a way, a path. It's knowing what
the next step is. Managing is from the Latin, manus, a hand. It's
about handling, and is closely linked with the idea of machines and came to
prominence in the 19th century, as engineers and accountants emerged to run
what had previously been entrepreneurial businesses.
Adair goes on to
make another distinction - managers can be appointed, leaders must be ratified
in the hearts and the minds of those who work for them.
In a stable and highly
structured environment it is managers that will excel. In dynamic environments
- where change is rapid and there are few points of reference - it is leadership
that is needed.
Look at the attributes
in the two lists above, and ask yourself:
Which are most
critical to achieving success, in the situation I am in?
How do I match up to them?
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