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What is the difference between a leader and a manager and what are the essential qualities of a leader? One of the simplest explanations of the difference between a leader and a manager was offered by management Guru Peter Drucker. He goes back to the ancient Greek roots of each word. The roots of the English word “Leader” comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “pathmaker”, whereas the origin of “Manager” comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “pathfollower”. Leaders are more concerned about creativity, innovation, making positive changes and seeking to challenge and push boundaries. They set the direction. Managers are focused on organizing stable systems, ensuring quality, and identifying and implementing best practice. They guide the journey. One of the simplest and most effective models for leadership is called the 5 Leadership practices. It was developed by Tom Peters and based on the research of Kouzes and Posner. Their research involved asking leaders and followers questions around: 1) What qualities individual leaders believed they needed when they were at their most successful And 2) What qualities those who were being led believed were important when they felt themselves being well led. Simply possessing each quality is not enough; you have to display it in a way that people notice. So these 5 key leadership qualities have been expressed more as practices that people can exhibit rather than qualities that a leader possesses. Here are the 5 Leadership Practices: 1. Challenge the process Leaders thrive on adversity. They learn the most in difficult situations. They are risk takers who regard failures as opportunities to learn and innovate. They are not content to do “business as usual”. Learn from what does not work. Improve things that do work. Challenge 24/7! To be a leader of influence you must: - Seek challenging opportunities to change, grow, innovate, and improve - Experiment, take risks, and learn from the accompanying mistakes Food for Thought: - What are some ways that things are being done that need to be challenged? - What innovative ideas can you risk trying? 2. Inspire a shared vision People are motivated most not by fear or reward, but by ideas that capture their imagination. It is not just about having a vision, but effectively communicating it so that others take up the vision and make it their own. Great leaders are future orientated and seek to energize others by passion, enthusiasm and emotion. They want to bring people on board with a sense of shared purpose. To be a leader of influence you must: - Envision an uplifting and noble future - Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to their values, interests, hopes and dreams Food for Thought: - Have you shared the bright future you invision with others? - Have you inspired them to take it up as their own? 3. Enable others to act Leaders don’t seek to achieve it all themselves – they achieve results through others. Encouragement and motivation isn’t enough. People must feel empowered to act and then must be supported to put their ideas into action. Collaboration and relationship-based work is central to success. To be a leader of influence you must: - Foster collaboration by promoting co-operative goals and building trust - Strengthen others by sharing information and power and by increasing their discretion and visibility Food for Thought: - Who in your team or organisation needs help and encouragement to act? - What would help them to act? 4. Model the way Modelling means being prepared to go first, living the behaviors you want others to adopt before asking them to adopt them. People will believe not what they hear leaders say, but what they see their leaders consistently do. Great leaders should serve as an example to others. To be a leader of influence you must: - Set an example for others by behaving in ways that are consistent with your stated values - Plan small wins that promote consistent progress and build Food for Thought: - Do you model the values and traits you want you team to have? - What trait do you want in your team that you need to start displaying yourself? - Are there any inconsistencies between what you ask and what you practice? 5. Encourage the heart People act best of all when they are passionate about what they’re doing. Leaders unleash the enthusiasm of their followers with stories and passions of their own. They enjoy celebrating successes – even small ones – and will tend to tackle difficult projects through recognizing others’ contributions. To be a leader of influence you must: - Recognize individual contributions to the success of every project. - When someone is doing something right, compliment them but privately and publicly - Celebrate team accomplishments regularly Food for Thought: - What is a recent success of the team or of an individual you can celebrate? - How can you make your passion contagious or channel the passions of your follows toward a common vision? You can learn to become a Leader of influence Through awareness, practice you can quickly make the transition from effective manager to outstanding leader. Periodically use these five practices of effective leaders as a checklist to measure your progress. By exhibiting these behaviors on a regular basis, you will be able to grow your influence to its fullest potential as a leader. Success Resources: http://www.srpl.net/
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