Good Leadership

Leadership and Management

There's a difference. (I had to look this one up.)

This is what I found at the Harvard Business Review:

Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual's ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control.

I've worked for bad managers. They were all about power and control. They offered  monetary gain (greed), and followed with fear (retribution). In other words, do what I ask or face the consequences. The article by Vineet Nayar   in the Harvard Business Review points out the difference. Here's what he came up with.

Counting value vs Creating value. You’re probably counting value, not adding it, if you’re managing people. Only managers count value; some even reduce value by disabling those who add value. If a diamond cutter is asked to report every 15 minutes how many stones he has cut, by distracting him, his boss is subtracting value.

By contrast, leaders focuses on creating value, saying: “I’d like you to handle A while I deal with B.” He or she generates value over and above that which the team creates, and is as much a value-creator as his or her followers are. Leading by example and leading by enabling people are the hallmarks of action-based leadership.

Circles of influence vs Circles of power. Just as managers have subordinates and leaders have followers, managers create circles of power while leaders create circles of influence.

Leading people vs Managing work. Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control.

Poor management is top down control. Good leadership enables. As a leader I strived for a democratic and hands-off approach: generally preferring to share the overall goal and let my reports determine exactly how to complete their work. I valued competence and decisiveness.

Did it always work? No. Perhaps, it was my weakness. At times I neglected to listen to differing opinions once my mind was made up. It's a humbling experience to take ownership of one's own mistakes. Mistakes are an opportunity for growth.


Good leadership qualities are all about:

• Integrity.
• Ability to delegate.
• Communication/Listening.
• Self-awareness.
• Gratitude.
• Learning agility.
• Influence.
• Empathy.
• Courage.
• Respect.

Try it. The transition to leadership won't happen overnight, and like most things in life, it will take a continuing effort to reapply the these ideals.

The past twenty years have seen a constant transitioning of challenges. Good leaders don't try to go it alone. They value the talents of those around them to help make the transition. In Public Media the challenge will be how to maintain listenership and engagement after the time of Trump.  

You can read more about this issue by clicking on this link.

Three Differences Between Managers and Leaders