May 1, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Leadership
May 3, 2010 at 4:02 am
Great post, Steve. Leadership comes in many forms and does not require position to be exercised. John Maxwell is an author who writes on this topic often. I recommend his book "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership".
May 3, 2010 at 6:34 am
Steve,
In the military I learned the difference between managers and leaders. Managers manage resources: hardware, paper, etc. They don't necessarily lead. Leaders give vision and direction to the group. Leaders look to the future and direct where the group is going. Most managers are happy to sit back and handle daily routine without worrying about the future.
It's easy to be a manager; more difficult to put yourself out front and lead.
May 3, 2010 at 6:41 am
David,
You are correct. I think it's much harder to lead, and since the bar is set so low for managers, they tend to follow that path.
May 3, 2010 at 7:08 am
Manager vs. leader - that's a useful comparison.
In a strong economy with commerce-friendly markets like what's often the case in America, perhaps adequate management and marginal leadership is enough.
I took a course on the economic history of America where we asked why America grew to become an economic powerhouse. Marginal worker productivity wasn't any greater than England. The answer was the sheer size of the market (tied together with a unified currency and banking system, with commerce-friendly policies) made the difference. We've got an environment where it's relatively easy to thrive in business. So, we don't have to be as good at management or leadership to thrive.
I've seen a case where an American business was bought by a group from Germany - and the Germans were able to immediately manage the business better and produce more revenue/reduce costs. They may or may not have provided better leadership. I suspect the environment in Germany is such that German companies must manage their businesses well in order to survive - and so those practices are put in place.
On the other hand, I've worked for companies here in America where the management was adequate, but definitely not optimal, and the businesses did alright.
Bill Nicolich: www.SQLFave.com.
Daily tweet of what's new and interesting: AppendNow
May 3, 2010 at 8:06 am
I was expecting this poster: http://www.despair.com/leaders.html
I think the leadership that you see out of the folks in the Armed Forces has to do with their training. They are forced to operate under stress while in the service, and by doing so become sure of their capabilities. Once they're in the business world, the comparable risk is laughable. They know that they can succeed, and therefore they do, and inspire others, which as has been mentioned, creates a leader out of them.
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How to post performance problems[/url]
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
May 3, 2010 at 9:20 am
Great leaders always communicate well. One of the biggest problems I see in IT shops is lack of communication. When you got one or two people in an organization that have alot of knowledge and they don't communicate it to others for whatever reasons, the whole department suffers. The left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing for a department to work well. Great leaders recognize this. I agree that leaders give vision and direction to the group, but you can't do any of that without good communication first. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
May 3, 2010 at 9:25 am
jcrawf02 (5/3/2010)
I was expecting this poster: http://www.despair.com/leaders.htmlI think the leadership that you see out of the folks in the Armed Forces has to do with their training. They are forced to operate under stress while in the service, and by doing so become sure of their capabilities. Once they're in the business world, the comparable risk is laughable. They know that they can succeed, and therefore they do, and inspire others, which as has been mentioned, creates a leader out of them.
Too bad this isn't always the case with former/retired military personnel.
May 3, 2010 at 10:45 am
To use the old joke as an example
The Leader wants to know where we are going, but the manager does not care as long as we make good time.
And said another way,
You see the back of the leader as they head out to where you are going, you always see the front of the manager telling you where you should be going.
M.:-):-):-)
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
May 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Dave Schutz (5/3/2010)
Steve,It's easy to be a manager; more difficult to put yourself out front and lead.
I agree with that. I also think another good comparison is that a leader is not a "yes" man. Leaders sometimes need to be that squeaky wheel.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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May 3, 2010 at 12:25 pm
CirquedeSQLeil (5/3/2010)
Dave Schutz (5/3/2010)
Steve,It's easy to be a manager; more difficult to put yourself out front and lead.
I agree with that. I also think another good comparison is that a leader is not a "yes" man. Leaders sometimes need to be that squeaky wheel.
Hear hear!
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How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]
"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
May 3, 2010 at 1:00 pm
CirquedeSQLeil (5/3/2010)
Dave Schutz (5/3/2010)
Steve,It's easy to be a manager; more difficult to put yourself out front and lead.
I agree with that. I also think another good comparison is that a leader is not a "yes" man. Leaders sometimes need to be that squeaky wheel.
I agree as well. A "Leader" stands up for his/her people in his/her department. A "manager" many times buckles under to everything his/her manager says.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
May 3, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Lynn Pettis (5/3/2010)
jcrawf02 (5/3/2010)
I was expecting this poster: http://www.despair.com/leaders.htmlI think the leadership that you see out of the folks in the Armed Forces has to do with their training. They are forced to operate under stress while in the service, and by doing so become sure of their capabilities. Once they're in the business world, the comparable risk is laughable. They know that they can succeed, and therefore they do, and inspire others, which as has been mentioned, creates a leader out of them.
Too bad this isn't always the case with former/retired military personnel.
IMHO -
Keep in mind that not all Military Personnel are great leaders and actually use (used) their training. Those that were great leaders during their duty usually are great leaders once they depart the service. It is really hard to untrain yourself unless that is your prime objective.
Joe
May 3, 2010 at 3:04 pm
crookj (5/3/2010)
Lynn Pettis (5/3/2010)
jcrawf02 (5/3/2010)
I was expecting this poster: http://www.despair.com/leaders.htmlI think the leadership that you see out of the folks in the Armed Forces has to do with their training. They are forced to operate under stress while in the service, and by doing so become sure of their capabilities. Once they're in the business world, the comparable risk is laughable. They know that they can succeed, and therefore they do, and inspire others, which as has been mentioned, creates a leader out of them.
Too bad this isn't always the case with former/retired military personnel.
IMHO -
Keep in mind that not all Military Personnel are great leaders and actually use (used) their training. Those that were great leaders during their duty usually are great leaders once they depart the service. It is really hard to untrain yourself unless that is your prime objective.
Joe
Yes, as always, all generalizations are untrue. Including this one.
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How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]
"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
May 4, 2010 at 9:14 am
One of the core challenges organizations face is aligning AUTHORITY with LEADERSHIP. People are influenced (inspired, demotivated, "led") by the people they choose. LEADING is different than "driving" (as in a herd of cattle). FOLLOWERS get to choose their leaders (through, simply enough, the ACT of following). Organizations oversimplify and then fight with reality when they appoint leaders rather than identify them. Effective organizations IDENTIFY good leadership at the "top" who identify, empower (and LEAD) good leaders who identify, empower (and LEAD) good people to achieve the organization's objectives. This is especially challenging in technical areas where we tend to identify STRONG CODERS and ask them to become "strong leaders" - not always a good outcome.
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