The first week of this course (MSLD 511 - Organizational Leadership) went pretty much as expected. As most first weeks of a new course are, it really just gave us a brief overview of what we will be researching in the class. We discussed the actual definition of leadership and the roles that leaders and managers play in an organization. One of the key points of discussion were the roles of managers and leaders. Though managers often act as leaders, the roles are actually quite different.
There are actually a lot of experts that believe that managers should not be leaders. "The most extreme distinction assumes that management and leadershio cannot occur in the same person (Yukl, 2013, p. 6.). As a relatively new student in the Master of Leadership program, part of me wants to say that it is not my place to say if this is right or wrong. Clearly people that are much more qualified than I am have conducted extensive research to come to that conclusion. Another part of me, however, thinks that perhaps these experts are misguided. For the time being, I will choose to remain neutral and I will respect their point of view. Perhaps there is some truth to it. I am still entitled to my own opinion, though, and my belief is that leadership is not just a role but is a trait/skill that can be learned/sharpened. Regardless, there is no doubt that leadership and management are completely separate roles. I found a pretty great article that I encourage my blog followers to read. In it, three main differences between managers and leaders are highlighted. The first is that leaders innovate and managers administer. In other words, the leader is responsible for coming up with the ideas and the manager is responsible for implementing them. Second, leaders are able to inspire trust whereas a manager relies on control. This isn't to say that control is a bad thing. It is simply a tool. The third distinction is that leaders ask "what" and "why" whereas managers ask "how" and "when". The article closes with an excellent point. She says that "the best managers are leaders" but "you can do both, but you have to take time to cultivate it" (Giang, 2012). (The link to the article is listed in the references at the bottom of this blog. I actually believe that it is part of the American Express website so I did my best to reference it properly.) As I previously stated, my opinion is that leadership is a trait so it can be learned. I didn't simply seek out an article to backup my opinion but that last line is very powerful to me. "You have to take time to cultivate it." As a career military man, we don't have the option to have separate leaders and managers. Of course the top generals don't actually do much administration but I will never work at that level. I am talking about on a local level. We, as managers, are forced to all be leaders. I take a lot of comfort in knowing that I can learn to be more effective.
For this assignment, we were given a video to watch. It is a TED Talk that I have seen numerous times and actually love to share with my center when we need to refocus. In it, the orator, Simon Sinek (2009), discusses how it isn't about the product but rather about the attitude. The focus that great leaders and innovators ask is "why" first and foremost. As a leader, that is what I want to do. Right now, that is a pretty easy question for me to answer. Why am I am Army recruiter? I love my country and I believe that we need to recruit the cream of the crop to ensure that our home is safe. However, I will be retiring very soon. I am not sure what I will be doing in the future but the concept is still sound. I want to work for an organization where I don't have a problem answering this question. If I don't know why (and making money, the video points out, is just a byproduct and not an actual reason), I don't believe that I can lead others. That will be my litmus test.
References:
Giang, V. (2012). 3 things that separate leaders from managers. Open Forum. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/uKV0ER
Sinek, S. (2009). How great leaders inspire action [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations, 8th Edition. Prentice Hall.
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