What is Leadership?

By Barry J. Bruns, Col, USAF Ret.
Manufacturing Work Affiliate

While there is nearly an infinite amount of confusion about leadership, there are basically only two models of how leadership and management interface.  One model confines leadership to strategic subjects—what are we doing, where are we going?  Everything else is management.  The other model spreads leadership over everything dealing directly with people.  It has a strategic aspect—what are we doing, where are we going, and a tactical aspect—how are we doing it, how are we getting there.  In each aspect it deals with making people willing to do the things the organization needs and go to the places the organizational vision identifies.  In this second model, management is constrained to dealing with things, while leadership deals with people.  Bosses can manage to make people do things, go places, but if they make the people want to do those things, go to those places, they are leading them.

Both models are useful, and if you study the subject you will encounter many examples of each.  The former model is even used by Gallup Corporation, and if you’ve read their First Break All the Rules, you will understand this model.  You will also encounter some of the confusion resulting when a discussion of management encounters the problem of understanding people.

The second model is perhaps the newer, and fewer organizations employ it.  The ones that do, however, find it easier to understand and more importantly, to teach and sustain.  How many bosses have the time to conduct multi-semester research in leadership at the post-graduate level?  Breaking a boss’s job into easily defined components is time saving and effective.  Trying to make people do something is frustrating and often counter productive.  Making them want to do something is much more rewarding and productive.  People do not like to be treated as things.  Manage your things, lead your people.

Watch for another article on "Why Leadership is Important."

Comments

[Frank Kanu]

"Manage your things, lead your people."

For me that say's it all. I love it!