“Boss” vs “Leader”
Over time I’ve been
able to observe others and myself in leadership positions. As time went on, I learned to understand the
difference between a “Boss” and a “Leader” as well as that, at times, it’s
actually necessary for us to be a boss rather than a leader.
I see plenty of infographics which describe the difference
between “bosses” and “leaders”. These
usually suggest that it’s better not to be a “boss” as this character tends to
“lead from behind”, “tell” rather than “sell” and all sorts of activities that
we generally don't like.
Skilful people know when to be which. In times of crisis, when swift action is
required to avert a disaster, the “boss” style is needed as we don't have the
time or luxury to get into long discussions.
Yes, this may mean that the top person makes the wrong decisions, and
the disaster they were trying to avert actually happens instead due to their poor
reading of the situation, but sometimes a decision is better than no decision
at all.
We’ve seen enough instances of that, but let’s take an
extreme situation of a military patrol in hostile territory coming under
fire. In these circumstances, training
takes over and the patrol sergeant or officer will normally read the situation
in seconds tell the rest of the patrol what to do in no uncertain terms based
on what they learnt both on training and from experience in similar situations
in the past.
They only have seconds (if that) to read the situation,
react, form a plan and execute it. If
they get it right, everyone walks away (except the “bad guys”). If they don’t, it may mean the loss of the
patrol.
In the current age, my observation is that most cultures
prefer the “leader” style, the one who “sells” and who says “follow me” rather
than “do as I say”. Experiments have
shown that group discussion and decision-making tends to produce better results
than one individual taking decisions in isolation. If you want proof, try an exercise called “Lost
at Sea”.
We prefer those who take the time to get to understand us as
people rather than employees. Leaders
who understand this tend to get better performance out of their teams.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. After more than 20 years in the global financial services
industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I
started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for
improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions. An international
speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Leadership, Teamwork
Whatever Works for You
I was leading a Time
Management workshop last week and we were discussing the various tools people
use. One delegate asked me what I’d recommend
and my answer was “Whatever works for you.”
The key is whatever works.
We’re all different, have different ways of doing things, processing
information, making decisions, so why should managing time be any different?
Over 25 years, I’ve seen and tried a number of techniques
from simple “To Do Lists” to Franklin-Covey to Microsoft Outlook to bullet journaling. All have their place and work well for
different individuals.
Some have been more trouble (to me) than they’re worth. Others “came and went” – I could take them or
leave them and in some cases I left them as I didn't see that they were adding
any real value to me.
Just as some people prefer one brand of tool over another,
or some athletes “swear by” a particular brand of clothing or equipment, the
same applies to time management techniques and tools. The only thing we can do is try them and see
what they do for us. If we see a
measurable improvement for comparatively little effort, it’s worth continuing to
use them.
Find out what works for you
and use it. If, after a while (or
several years) it’s no longer working as well (or at all), drop it. Just like clothing and equipment can wear
out, so can time management techniques, especially in our modern world where
the pace of change only seems to be increasing.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial
services around the world running different
operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide
solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Career, Productivity, Strategy
