What You’re Rarely Told About Leadership
Most people are fascinated by leadership. Especially the kind of leadership that is advertised as:
- casting the big vision
- cheer-leading the people
- speaking in eloquent melodies that make people go “ahh”
- being the person who walks down the hall and says the right thing to encourage a member of the team
- being a person of influence (whatever that means)
This painting of leadership is usually attractive to most people. This is the part of leadership that is most often talked about by leadership gurus. This is also the part of leadership that has come quite easily to me.
What you’re usually never told about the subject is that leadership without effective management is dead. It’s easy to rally the troops, give them the pep talk, point them in the direction, and then fire the gun. What’s more difficult is to follow up with the troops. To set specific goals with them. To see how the progress is going, keep them motivated along the way, and be able to hold them accountable if they don’t reach the goals.
Leadership sets the direction. Management makes sure that you get there. You can be a great speaker and motivator, but if you are not a good manager, ultimately things will not get done.
After three years of being a leader and painfully realizing how much has slipped through my fingers, this lesson has finally sunk in.
So here’s the biggest recommendation I can make to myself and other leaders:
A system must be set up to ensure the timely progress and development of projects. I’m not talking about a personal productivity system like GTD, but a corporate system, if it exists.
When something is decided, who will take on the project? How much time will they have to complete it? What should the finished product look like? How will you followup with the team member to ensure that it’s being completed?
I’ve found that this slow-methodical-unglamorous march of management is just as important, if not more, than the quick-sprint, rally-from-the-back, sparkle-from-the-front, glamorous kind of leadership.
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So true. I think team leadership is the key for both effective vision-casting and management/follow-up. I feel like vision-casting is one of my strengths, but I am a horrible manager (which makes me wonder why I got into teacher, since teaching is all about management). A few years ago, however, I was working on a ministry project with a pastor who was very gifted at managing people. It was such a blessing to be able to do what I was good at, and let him do what he was good at.
Managing is one of the main areas I’m working on in my life right now. Like you mentioned, the vision-casting seems to be the strength for many of us. Here’s a book that was recommended to me as one of the best books on dealing with the managing thing. It’s a book I just ordered and am looking forward to reading:
Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit
I’m really enjoying your blog, Rodlie! This one really strikes a chord with me, as I feel it applies in many ways to where I’m at right now. I would have to agree that both parts are important though. I’m totally more of a manager than a vision-caster, and to try and manage people before they’ve caught the vision is really something you shouldn’t even attempt. You need both, and if you can’t develop it in yourself then try and team yourself up with someone who has the strengths you lack. God Bless as you continue to work on growing as an effective leader for God!
Elizabeth F