There is a bigger difference between management and leadership than most people realize. Not all leaders make good managers and vice versa. Whereas leadership is about providing clear direction through strategic thinking, decision making, and planning. It is about the macro. Management is about executing leadership initiatives through directing, organizing, coaching, and holding people tactically accountable. It is about the micro. A good manager knows his/her people well and is committed to their success individually and collectively.
People are complex especially when under duress. I am always reticent to give simple answers to difficult questions. Not because there are never simple answers that suffice, but because it often shows a lack of respect for the person in need of help. Before you dive in and offer guidance to someone, it’s important you
Leadership isn’t rocket science. Creating the conditions for business success is actually pretty basic: be clear about where you are going and why; define what success looks like and track performance; make sure all of your key people on the same page; don’t “wing it” when it comes to important decisions; ensure that every single employee knows how they fit in the big picture and what they are supposed to be doing; create a process for providing on-going performance feedback; hold people accountable for results (including yourself); be careful about who you hire and put in supervisory roles; provide extensive training and support; never stop communicating with your customers; and make sure everyone shares in the success of the business but also feels the pinch of nonperformance.
I’ve heard many leaders tell me they always wait to do something until the last minute because they perform best under this type of pressure. Sounds like a bit of rationalization to me. I know that when I procrastinate on something it’s not because it is the best way to work – it is often quite the opposite. I just don’t want to do whatever it is because I view it as drudgery, am unsure how to proceed or I’m not sure I’ll be pleased by the outcome. I cannot imagine any scenario where purposefully putting yourself under time pressure until the last minute makes any sense.
Chris McChesney
Read Ed's Book SummaryView the BookFor fans of Good to Great and The First 90 Days, The Four Disciplines of Execution is the book “every leader should read” (Clayton Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School, and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma) for creating lasting organizational change. A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller with more than 500,000 copies sold, The Four Disciplines of Execution will radically change your business. 4DX® is not […]
Read moreCharles Handy
Read Ed's ExcerptsView the BookOne of the world’s most influential living management thinkers, Charles Handy has year-after-year been listed alongside business gurus including Peter Drucker and Tom Peters in the prestigious Thinkers 50 list. His views on management — and life — have inspired and enlightened others for decades. Now, in Myself and Other More Important Matters, the bestselling author […]
Read moreBusiness Management Daily
The editors of Business Management Daily have compiled dozens upon dozens of hints and tricks for those tasked with leading employees to greatness. If you’re in management, you’ll consult this handbook weekly, perhaps even daily. Whenever a problem crops up, your handbook will be at your fingertips. And as you become a better problem-solver—and a […]
Read moreDecades of scientific research show that stress and anxiety are prevalent problems at work, contributing to deficits in employee morale, well-being, and productivity. While anxiety is caused by a range of factors, including issues unrelated to people’s jobs, one common and pervasive cause is something specific to the workplace: incompetent leadership. Managers and leaders have a direct effect on their employees’ stress […]
Read moreSuccessful transformations harness the collective wisdom of middle managers and teams. To increase your company’s chances, you need to: 1) Enlist your very best middle managers. Transforming a business demands a blend of creativity and ingenuity. By setting this challenge you can also test and nurture the next generation of leaders. 2) Empower the middle to […]
Read moreGartner research has found that managers today are accountable for 51% more responsibilities than they can effectively manage — and they’re starting to buckle under the pressure: 54% are suffering from work-induced stress and fatigue, and 44% are struggling to provide personalized support to their direct reports. Ultimately, one in five managers said they would […]
Read moreNoah Berk, Co-President of obo – https://theobogroup.com, shares his thoughts on leadership and business.
Professional development resource/community for leaders looking to scale their business.
View moreThe purpose of this page is simply to share some insights into how and why our website was started. Back in September of 2002, the vision for Leadership-Tools.com was born out of a strong desire to share the many benefits of high quality leadership tools and resources; tools that have helped me in so many […]
View morePerformance planning is a great way to give a sense of direction to the employees and create a space for them to grow in their career. In this guide, we will discuss what is performance planning and the process. Some useful templates are also provided. You can edit these online; simply click on the template to […]
View moreOne-on-one meetings are among the best opportunities for relationship-building that we’re afforded at work. But when run badly, they can feel like an unproductive use of people’s time. Mistake No. 1: viewing these check-ins as another task list item to check off. With planning and forethought, you can take your one-on-one meetings to the next […]
Great summary of the book: The Four Disciplines of Execution. 4DX® is not theory. It is a proven set of practices that represents a new way of thinking essential to thriving in today’s competitive climate, making this 2nd Edition a book that no business leader can afford to miss. The 2nd Edition provides more than 30 percent […]
Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.
The Effective Manager By: Mark Horstman Book Summary and Excerpts CHAPTER 1 – Who Is an Effective Manager? Everyone has experienced both good and bad managers. What makes them that way? Is it what they do? How they think? Their personality? What they feel? Where they went to school? Think about this for a […]
Read moreClick for hard copy Chapter One – Are You Sure? The two zones of work and friendship operate best when they don’t overlap, because the perceptions of who we are do not become confused. The truth is that we all behave differently, in a way are different people, in different circumstances. Those who claim that […]
Read moreManaging Up and Across Excerpts SECTION ONE – MANAGING UP Managing Your Boss: This relationship can be problematic for two reasons. First, a boss plays conflicting roles: supporter and evaluator, which can create confusion. Second, people often bring their past experiences with authority into the relationship, which can create unnecessary complications. Don’t presume […]
Read moreEd’s books on Leadership, Life and Business will elevate your knowledge and give you the confidence to apply it to your personal and professional life.