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Warren Bennis once wrote, “The manager administers; the leader innovates.” Anyone, at any level within an organization can cultivate leadership skills, both for improved current job performance and with an eye to future career opportunities. If you are a manager who wishes to take on more of a leadership role within your organization, consider the following differences between managers and leaders, adapted from AMA’s seminar “Leadership Skills for Supervisors.”
There are multiple differences between managers and leaders:
- Authority. For managers, authority is vested; leaders earn it. A supervisor/manager’s main job is to get the job done, on spec, on time and on budget. Supervisors and managers implement existing processes and systems. They focus on what already exists.
- Change. Leaders are about change. They focus on the future. Leaders can envision what does not now exist. They communicate their ideas in such a way that followers are wiling to invest their energies in working together to make the vision a reality. It is the nature of leadership to challenge the status quo. Leaders are always asking how to do it better, faster, with higher quality and with improved customer satisfaction.
- Followers. There is no leadership without followers. A brilliant, visionary person is not a leader unless he/she has the ability to convince others to believe in the same goals. Leaders do not have to be charismatic, but they must be able to communicate their ideas to the people they need to transform their ideas into reality.
- Credibility. People will not follow a person they don’t trust. Followers have to believe that there is something in it for them. Leaders have the ability to help each follower see that they will personally gain something by contributing their efforts to the endeavor. Followers must also believe that the end goal is achievable and that the leader has the ability to lead the group into his/her vision of the future.
- Intuition. While managers function analytically, depending mainly on facts and logic, leaders frequently operate on intuition. Leaders create a vision that requires a leap of faith by their followers. Managers focus on the here and now.
- Broad perspective. Leaders look beyond immediate concerns on to bigger issues. Managers work in the trees; leaders see the forest—and even the lay of the land beyond the forest.
Keep in mind that leadership is an evolutionary process. Slowly, over time, as you build a managerial track record, you’ll begin to see possibilities that others don’t. You’ll find that you’re ready to ask people to follow your lead.
AMA’s “Leadership Skills for Supervisors” syllabus recommends three action steps to help you acquire leadership skills:
- Be honest with yourself. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. What weaknesses can you improve? How can you improve them? Make notes on your calendar so that you’ll have a constant reminder of what to work on.
- Ask for, and listen to, feedback. Evaluate what you hear. Is it valid? If so, what steps can you take to improve? Whatever you do, don’t “kill the messenger,” or that’s the last time the person will provide you with feedback.
- Commit yourself to lifelong learning. First comes learning and reflecting, then comes action. Learning without action won’t make you a leader. Learning with action will.
If you would like more information about AMA’s seminar, “Leadership Skills for Supervisors,” click here.
Click here for a complete listing of Leadership seminars.
Click here to read “Have You Got the Right Stuff to be a Leader?” from the book 108 Skills of Natural Born Leaders, by Warren Blank.
AMA On-site: Every one of AMA’s 170+ public seminars can be delivered on-site. This flexible, money-saving option allows you to train ten or more people, when and where you choose, at a low cost per participant. Click here for more information.
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