Batman versus
Superman reminds me of what it is like to compare and contrast management versus
leadership. To be clear, management is Batman in this scenario. One has an
innate ability free from any gadgets to accomplish a task and influence others.
It would be great to have either one around, but even more powerful if you
could merge them into a more super-superhero. Perhaps to be fair maybe
management and leadership are more like perpendicular roads each with their own
purpose and traveling in their own direction that cross paths and overlap
creating an intersection. Some would say that managers are the leaders, though
a disagreement is possible as one can exist without the other. As traditional
hierarchy goes there are very few at the top and not everyone gets to be a
manager. Everyone has the ability to be a leader, or at least that is what I
believe.
Pure
management would be task-oriented and concerned with counting value, focusing
on systems and structures, measuring the bottom line, and requiring others to
report on their progress while completing duties. Leadership is difficult concept
as there is no single correct definition (Yukl, 2013). Leaders can have a formal title, but it is not
a requirement in order to be influential, to develop others, create value,
articulate a vision, and focuses on people. “Influence and inspiration separate
leaders from managers, not power and control” (Nayar, 2013, para. 7).
Simon Sinek is
responsible for one of my favorite TED talks “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”
which I watched for the first time about a year and a half ago. Since that time
I have watched the video at least five times and have made others watch it.
Each time I finish I feel invigorated and desire to sing its praises from the
rooftop! At work I am part of a team which includes eight, soon to be nine,
advisors and our Director. Lately things have been a little off balance. We are
lost, but we do not have to be. We will find our way. We have seen a lot of
changes in a concentrated amount of time and although it is strongly agreeable amongst
all members that the changes are for the better it is too easy to be bogged
down by process while trying to find our sea legs and we need to find our “why”
again for ourselves and for our students.
I am a person
that is driven by passion and inspiration and feel a good use of time is
searching for these ingredients to life and am someone who will readily tell
anyone I meet that I believe that hard times requires furious dancing and that
I wish to leave a little sparkle wherever I go. I want to bring magic to
everything I do because if you are like me, you know that old ways do not open
new doors. That is who I am and not what I do and is my purpose as a leader.
My current
Director is someone who inspires me because she is the total package of both
hard and soft skills in the realms of management and leadership. She does what
she says she will do, is incredibly knowledgeable, and is someone who is
genuinely kind and caring. I respect her because of her quiet leadership; she
is powerful without demanding control. Something that shocked me and
subsequently impressed me was that when I was a brand new employee she wanted
to hear my ideas and my input and whenever possible was open to trying not only
my suggestions but all of our ideas. We were not locked in a “this is how it
has always been done” routine. Previously I had been told no for sharing
something new and that I needed to wait my turn to have ideas. Our cause is to
make the team better and be the best we can be.
Revisiting
Sinek’s TED talk sparked an idea to share this with our team and first thing
tomorrow I am going to chat with my Director to see when we can do this. It
comes at a perfect time to remind us of our cause and to rejuvenate our why and
then brainstorm how we can articulate the why to others.
Management is incredibly important and
necessary, but sticking to only dotting i’s and crossing t’s of daily business
activities makes it difficult for innovation. As an example, I am a big fan of
Southwest Airlines because I feel connected with their identity as an
organization. If I can increase the number of opportunities to laugh then I
want to do that always. The flight attendants that make hilarious announcements
eases the tension in the cabin and makes the safety reminders fun. It also
pushes the status quo and shows leadership sensibilities by empowering their
employees, inspiring those within the organization and the passengers, and
gives a head nod to knowing that different is not bad. Different can be fun and
it can be good.
If you are leader then be a leader and if you
can be a manager, too, then be both. While management is apt to fade out,
leadership is a renewable resource. Let us not forget that while neither comes
easy and when the forces are combined it creates a super, superhero. I retract
my comparison of Batman versus Superman and management versus leadership. Be
both. There is no need for competition, just combination.
References:
Nayar, V.
(2013, August 2). Three Differences Between Managers and Leaders. Retrieved
July 5, 2015, from https://hbr.org/2013/08/tests-of-a-leadership-transiti
Sinek, S. (2009) How Great
Leaders Inspire Action. TEDxPuget Sound.
Retrieved July 5, 2015, from: http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership
in organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
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