Today’s articles are focused on executives, but, as usual, the content is applicable to all levels of management, as well as non-management.
Let’s start with a question; is it possible to effectively manage electronically? Research going back to the 1940s shows that it’s not.
Managing is not a science; it is a subtle and nuanced practice, learned mostly on the job, through paying close attention to gestures and tone of voice. (…) Information technology can and should expand your range of communication, but cannot be a substitute for interactions that build trust, share vision, and enhance community..
“But we humans have found ways to not feel so bad about it when we behave a certain way — we basically disconnect these self sanctions.” (…)”If you were to go to church or temple, that’s a moral domain. People tend to not think about business as a moral domain.” — David Mayer, management professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business
For leaders to establish those policies, they’re going to have to fear the consequences themselves. (…) By paying attention to how the environment affects our choices, people can begin to treat their ethics as a skill to develop and continue developing, even as students graduate, enter the workforce, and become executives.
But [after two decades] Beth Brooke was growing tired of hiding, particularly after being tapped to head Ernst & Young’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
1) Create an organization where those who manage others are hired for their ability to manage well, supported to get even better at managing, and held accountable and rewarded for doing so.
2) Then be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish as an organization – not only in terms of financial goals, but in a more three-dimensional way. What’s your purpose; what do you aspire to bring to the world? What kind of a culture do you want to create in order to do that? What will the organization look, feel and sound like if you’re embodying that mission and culture? How will you measure success? And then, once you’ve clarified your hoped-for future, consistently focus on keeping that vision top of mind and working together to achieve it.
Yesterday’s Ducks in a Row focus was Greg Smith and his resignation from Goldman Sachs. Greg resigned because he felt the culture had deteriorated to the point that he could no longer ethically tell candidates that it’s a great place to work—Goldman’s focus is squarely on maximizing their own profit and clients be damned. (The story is all over traditional and social media.)
At the end of his resignation Greg says,
Make the client the focal point of your business again. Without clients you will not make money. In fact, you will not exist. Weed out the morally bankrupt people, no matter how much money they make for the firm. And get the culture right again, so people want to work here for the right reasons. People who care only about making money will not sustain this firm — or the trust of its clients — for very much longer.
The bold is mine and that thought fits the “if you learn nothing else…” admonishment.
But I will go a step further—
You can’t attract great clients without great talent, so even if you make money in the short-term you will die in the long-term—bereft of both talent and clients.
Great culture attracts great talent; great talent attracts great clients; great clients spend great money—over and over and over.
This is a summing up in a series discussing whether Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers still holds in light of today’s modern workforce.
In a comment on the prequel to this series Phil Gerbyshak said, “I agree wholeheartedly that great managers have BOTH qualities…though I know plenty of average managers who don’t have either. I’d like it required that managers have at least one half of Bennis’ qualities in order to lead a team. Is that too much to strive for?”
On day one Nii said, “Regarding the differences between a manager and a leader, I believe that the gap is closing between the two. In today’s global and technologically advanced world, managers still need to have the leadership qualities to succeed. They need to be able to take risks, inspire, innovate and challenge conventional thinking. Otherwise, they will be history.”
Day four Fred commented, “I believe to be a successful manager in today’s new work environment managers must posses the skills to be effective leaders and coaches in team oriented “open door” environments. Young employees entering the work force from High School or College do not possess the same work ethics of baby boomer’s. If managers attempt to train this new work force using the same tactics as we did in the past retention will suffer greatly. It is truly a kinder and gentler world we live in.”
I’m in passionate agreement with the consensus that managers need to marshal many so-called leadership skills if they plan to succeed today.
In a world where multiple job changes are both easy and acceptable the currency that buys loyalty isn’t money, rather it’s achieved by creating an environment that stimulates and satisfies each individual’s needs.
Finally, in a sister post over at Slacker ManagerNick McCormick says, “Too much is made of the difference between managers and leaders. I think we do it to make ourselves seem more important. “I’m a leader, not a lowly manager!””
Amen, Nick. While management is what you do, leadership is the way you think. Great management is composed of equal parts leadership and accountability. True leaders are proclaimed as such by those around them, not by themselves.
The best way to find success is to work constantly at incorporating as many to Bennis’ 26 traits as possible into your skillset and your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and stop worrying about what you’re called.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
Today’s articles are focused on executives, but, as usual, the content is applicable to all levels of management, as well as non-management.
Last December a post entitled 
This is a summing up in a series discussing whether Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers still holds in light of today’s modern workforce.
