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| “No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.” Lord Horatio Nelson |
Leaders and Managers
There is a difference between a „leader‟ and a „manager‟ isn‟t there?
We define a “leader” as: “A member of a team or organisation who is responsible for establishing and communicating clear goals, and then inspiring positive actions towards their achievement.”
As opposed to a “manager” who we define as: “A member of a team or organisation who is responsible for the daily organisation of money, material resources and people, for the most efficient achievement of a goal.
Clearly, leadership and management are different concepts, yet isn‟t it true that both could be present in the same person?
We believe so. So from now on, we will use the term “leadermanager”,
to indicate anyone who wants to improve the performance of the team; and this means you! You want to improve your performance.
You may be a person with good technical ability; but having good technical knowledge does not necessarily mean that you are equally expert at motivating, communicating and handling difficult people.
A poor working atmosphere, ambiguous instructions and crude methods of handling conflict, limit the effectiveness of a team and therefore its productiveness.
1. There are six “fundamentals” that every leader-manager must master:
2. Effective goal setting.
3. Accuracy and clarity in communication.
4. Good planning, prioritising skills.
5. Good conflict management skills
6. The ability to inspire yourself
7. The ability to inspire others.
Let us look at each one in turn.
There is a difference between a „leader‟ and a „manager‟ isn‟t there?
We define a “leader” as: “A member of a team or organisation who is responsible for establishing and communicating clear goals, and then inspiring positive actions towards their achievement.”
As opposed to a “manager” who we define as: “A member of a team or organisation who is responsible for the daily organisation of money, material resources and people, for the most efficient achievement of a goal.
Clearly, leadership and management are different concepts, yet isn‟t it true that both could be present in the same person?
We believe so. So from now on, we will use the term “leadermanager”,
to indicate anyone who wants to improve the performance of the team; and this means you! You want to improve your performance.
You may be a person with good technical ability; but having good technical knowledge does not necessarily mean that you are equally expert at motivating, communicating and handling difficult people.
A poor working atmosphere, ambiguous instructions and crude methods of handling conflict, limit the effectiveness of a team and therefore its productiveness.
1. There are six “fundamentals” that every leader-manager must master:
2. Effective goal setting.
3. Accuracy and clarity in communication.
4. Good planning, prioritising skills.
5. Good conflict management skills
6. The ability to inspire yourself
7. The ability to inspire others.
Let us look at each one in turn.
