I think I've always been a bit of both. I am not sure you can be only one. Well, let me think about this for a minute. I know people who are great workers; they moved into management positions were not so good. I know leaders that work at a managers level and clearly that is where they belong. While I know you can learn to be a leader, so people are better at it than others.
Aracelis, We agree! And very well said. Have you had experience working with someone that is both a manager and a leader?
Dr. Jean Norris
I believe in order to have a successfully running business, you need to be a manager. This is vital in order to maintain order but in order to maintain a pleasant and functional environment you need to be a leader. The leader is viewed more as that motivational cheerleader that encourages their workers to adapt to any change meanwhile the manager just implements the changes and expects it to be carried out with no questions asked. Can someone be both? Definitely so. Should someone be both? Yes, if their goal is success.
Jeff,
We agree! Thank you for sharing in the forum!
Dr. Jean Norris
You must be both to be effective in the workplace. You need to be able to MANAGE the task at hand (short term) while envisioning the goal at the end of the work process (long term) and providing encouragement and motivation to the team to help stay on track towards that goal.
A leader without good management skills and a manager without good leadership skills are equally ineffective.
Kevin,
We agree. It is important to have both managerial and leadership skills. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. Jean Norris
Ah an age old debate. I have often struggled with this one. On one hand, I have great admiration for a true leader. A leader that has great vision, determination and the actual drive to get there. General Patton comes to mind. On the other hand I have come across far too many leaders (The Big Picture People) that lost all respect due to painting the "Big Picture" without a realistic plan to get there. Therefore, I believe that at the very least one possess a certain percentage of both.
Alan,
Yes! Leaders can manage by motivation, coaching, and assisting their team to grow. Thank you for sharing!
Dr. Jean Norris
Alan,
Excellent awareness, and great points. Thank you for sharing!
Dr. Jean Norris
I believe a person can be a manager as well as a leader. A good manager needs to have some leadrship skills. It can be easy for good managers to surround themselves with great people but it also would take a good manager to have leadership skills to develop those people into good leaders of their diverse groups.
Even during rough times a good leader should be able to motivate, coach, and push their people to step out of the box and look at different avenues for better success.
I think you're right Dean, having experience and utilizing your people skills can help when you make the choice to step into the manager role. Thank you for your contribution!
Dr. Jean Norris
You decide to be a manager when you as a leader realize one of your managers need your guidance. Not only do you step back into the manager role, but you are at the same time getting the managers assignment done but also teaching the manager how to manage. That's where your people skills and experience come in to play.
It's true that in today's work culture understanding the need for both is important and taking the time to analyze what the team or project needs is key. What can a leader/manager do when both vision and implementation are needed?
Thank you for your insights German. There are many opportunities in both the good and difficult times for both leaders and managers. Knowing when to utilize each is the key!
I think in today's work culture of entrepreneurship you have to be both. I think you have to decide what a team or project needs most: a new innovative vision to take a project in a different direction (leader) or someone who can implement a set of processes and obtain a set of goals.
Being able to recognize which of these a particular situation needs will best serve a person.
Great points of view in this forum. In my humble opinion there is a time for both roles. I feel that as a leader when things are quiet it is important to groom the team to expand their competencies. In hard times, it is important to have a more active managerial role, to make sure the team does not fall off.
So true Monica, the leaders tend to make their way up the channel and often quite quickly. When an individual demonstrated true leadership qualities like those you mention, the organization should take notice as these people can help the organization to grow. Have you seen people within your organization move up the leadership ladder?
I believe that anyone can be a manager. However a true leader encourages, listens, acts, and demonstrates leadership skills to others. Therefore yes, a receptionist can be a leader. These types of people are not receptionists for very long though!
Well I'm glad I read this post before responding to the other! Great awareness Alex, I'm glad you made it through the entire course and see the benefit of having both management and leadership skills to be successful.
Dr. Jean Norris
