This blog is an adaptation of an article published by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in the US with the same title. The information applies to companies as much as it does to ministry, and this was just too good not to make use of!!
Leadership is key
We tend to think of leaders a charismatic people in the emotional sense. It is, contrary to this popular belief, not necessary to be like that to be a great leader. Remember that some of the greatest leaders in history were charismatic people, but they were also the worst leaders because of what they did to humanity. Think of Stalin, Mao Zedong and Hitler. Personality has nothing to do with dynamic leadership.
Leadership and vision
It is not the charisma of a leader that makes him or her great leader. It is the vision of a leader. Your position in the company does not matter, your number 1 responsibility is to continually clarify and communicate the vision of your department, section, branch, company, etc (based on your position), and always subject to the overall vision of the organization. We need to constantly answer the question: "Why are we here?" If we as the leaders do not know the answer to this question, we cannot lead.
Pastor Rick explains this concept using his own experience at Saddleback Church. He sees his job as "to keep us on track with the original New Testament purpose of the church". He goes on to say that when a church is small, it is much easier to lead. But as the church grows it becomes much more complex, and that causes problems from a leadership perspective. The leader cannot be involved in everything anymore (after a critical balance point has been reached). The same applies to our companies. New people are being employed, each coming with their own ideas and beliefs. It can be very frustrating to hear the words: "In my previous company we did not do it like this.......", etc.
As Pastor Rick puts it: "How can I politely say 'we don't care how you did something at another church!'? The vision of the person's previous church or company is not the same as that of the company or church we are working for now. So it is not the issue. The vision of the company where they are working now is the key issue! Therefore we must continually clarify and communicate the vision of our organizations to every person working there. We need it known and understood what we are doing and why we are doing it. None can be left in the dark to the question of vision! Use whatever mechanisms are available to do this. Our vision and purpose for being must always be out front where everyone can see it. Every person in the organization needs to know why we are here and identify with that vision. This is one of the reasons why the ISO management system standards put so much emphasis on leadership and strategic direction.
Leader or Manager?
Vision is the main difference between leadership and management. Management in general consists primarily of three things:
- Analysis
- Problem solving
- Planning
All management courses focus on these things, irrespective of which course one chooses to attend.
Leadership consists of vision and values, communication, etc. If leadership do not clarify the purpose of the organization, who will? I deal with many employees attending training courses, and it is amazing how many of them have no idea what the vision and values of the organizations that they work for are.
We tend to over-manage and under-lead, Of course we need to manage our companies, but we also need to lead. We need both! When we only manage, we get the problem of paralysis of analysis, It is like saying: "Ready .... Aim ... Aim ... Aim ..."And they never fire! Management without leadership results in constant analysis and looking at the data, but never actually doing something to move the company forward. Again ISO is encouraging us to take action in its management system standards.
Of course we need managers as well. Without them the opposite happens: "Ready ... Fire!" We need to take aim, to analyze the available information. We need both leadership and management if we are going to be successful as an organization.
The differences between managers and leaders are huge:
Manager
- Managers have subordinates. They tell people what to do. People are resources to be used
- They focus on work. Getting done today what needs to be done is paramount. They think short-term
- They seek comfort. They do not like change. If things stay the same, we get done what we have to, and there is no risk involved
Leader
- Leaders have followers - people voluntary follow them. This means that we are going somewhere
- Leaders promise transformational benefits. It is going to be better for all of us when we reach our vision
- Leaders focus on people. The people will do what they have to, if they believe in the vision
What leaders and managers do:
Manager
- Plans and budgets
- Organizes and allocates resources
- Controls and solve problems
Leader
- Shows direction
- Aligns and influences
- Motivates and inspires
Clearly we need both!
The power of Vision
Some people have dreams, but not vision. There is a difference. Vision is a pragmatic dream, Many people have great dreams. They have grand ideas of everything they would like to accomplish, but they never get their dreams in a concrete form where they can do something about them.
A vision is a dream that can be implemented. It is specific. Something cannot become dynamic unless it becomes specific. This is why ISO is encouraging us to view our organizations in context, to identify risks and opportunities, and set strategic direction. Then we need to plan how we are going to deal with risk and opportunity so that we will be able to realize the vision that is based on reality.
Pastor Rick says that every Easter Sunday he stands back and marvels at all God has done in their church. They started with a handful of people. Now, every Easter they have more people than the year before as thousands of people gather together. And to think that they started with a little vision. That is the power of vision. And it applies the same to our companies and organizations.
We start with understanding context. We create a vision. We plan strategically how we are going to realize that vision. And then we plan tactically so that we take action now to enable us to go to where we want to be as an organization. But leadership must make the company's vision the vision of all employed by the company. They all contribute to the realization of that vision. Management cannot do it alone.
I hope that you have found something useful to help you in you in your role as a leader in this blog!
Please contact me at koosgouws10@gmail.com with any feedback or questions that you may have. You can also visit our website at www.sheqmanagementsystem.co.za, or at www.sheq-management-systems.webnode.com.
The original article published by Pastor Rick Warren can be found here: https://pastors.com/the-crucial-difference-between-managing-and-leading/
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