HIP Champaign Mission #1 Help Cultivate Leadership

HIP Champaign Mission #1 Help Cultivate Leadership

Oscar Smith, Managing Editor, May 24, 2021

Over the last four decades I continue to be surprised by the general confusion between management and leadership. Managers push, leaders pull. Managers try to light a fire under people, leaders stoke the fire within. Managers command, leaders inspire. Managers use position power, leaders use persuasion power. Managers control, leaders foster commitment.

For some reason the contrast between extreme management and leadership seems to be especially sharp. Management tends to be at the extremes edges. It often involves fear and intimidation. How can fearful and angry staff turnaround and provide any business a great service? Research clearly shows that they don’t.  Unhappy and poorly trained staff passes how they are treated to their clients. In today’s workplace, a management style of pushing people around often pushes the highest performers right out the door.

Despite all their pious declarations about the importance of people, leadership, and values, far too many managers treat people in their operations with about as much care as they would attach to fixtures, equipment, or décor. They are just one more set of assets to be managed. These just happen to be breathing and have skin wrapped around them. Managers who view “their people” as property are cold and dispassionate. In fact, they would make perfect donors for heart transplants – their hearts have had such little use!
Management For Many Is:
• Commanding
• Solving problems
• Directing and controlling
• Seeing people as they are
• Empowering
• Operating
• Pushing
• Heroic manager
• Quick fix to symptons

Leadership On The Other Hand:
• Coaching
• Enabling others to solve problems
• Teaching and engaging
• Developing people into what they can be
• Partnering
• Improving
• Pulling
• Facilitative leader
• Searching together for systemic root causes

Managers often use a “one size fits all” approach and try to “mass grow” people.

Leaders work with people to discover where they are best able to thrive and succeed. Like a good gardener, leaders treat each person in their organization as an individual with his or her own unique aspirations, strengths, and characteristics. Leaders then work to put people in the best place for them to thrive and succeed. They mix and match team members to build a well-rounded team that can show its best colors according to the season – or is best suited to the current operating conditions of the organization or the team. Leaders tend to each person on their team and coach them to change habits or prune overgrown methods that may prevent further growth. They are consistently moving team members around to avoid overcrowding and to bring out the best in each person.
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