The Sunday Feed!
Management versus Leadership
Often confused, the 2 concepts are completely different from one and another. You guessed it right, one is looking down and the other is looking up.
So what makes management different from leadership? The simple answer is one is limiting and the other has no boundaries.
Management is meeting set targets while leadership is redefining goals and objectives.
To put into perspective, a leader does not manage people. He/ she tells them what to do and looks outside for opportunities to grow the company or business.
However, leaders are always available for solving problems when they are alarmed by a panic button.
Let’s look at some qualities of a good leader and also people who have lived these qualities.
- Vision: Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela had a common vision — abolish apartheid. Both gave their lives for this cause. The people living freely today should never underestimate the contribution made by people like them.
“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.” — John Maxwell
2. Inspiration: Food provides the nutrition and energy for your body to repair but the motivation and energy to do something big comes from inspiration. You don’t always need a podium to inspire people, even a small blog like this can touch many a hearts.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama
3. Strategic and Critical Thinking: The biggest myth I have ever come across is the phrase called, “the road to success.” When you set out on a mission, there are no roads only walls as far as your eyes can see! It is your wit and thinking that help you find a way.
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger–but recognise the opportunity.” ― John F. Kennedy
4. Communication: Life on earth can be summed up in 2 things — what did we do and what did we say. A person is usually known by what he does for a living but leaders are better known for how forcefully and effectively they communicate.
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” — Bill Gates
5. Responsibility: Something I have personally noticed is that a word today does not mean anything. People break promises like they spit out a bad tasting grape. It has almost become second nature for most people. However, it pays to be different and anyone who keeps his/ her word under all circumstances will be seen as a leader.
“The price of greatness is responsibility.” — Winston Churchill
6. Creative: Creativity is nothing but outthinking the problem, especially when there does not seem a clear answer to the problem. If you ever come across a businessman or a woman, ask them what resources did they have when they started the business. Don’t be surprised if most of them say none. They all had to use creativity to make up for the lack of resources.
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” — General George Patton
7. Flexibility: Traditionally, day is the time when people work. Not those who have a vision because they know that when the computer labs are not being used in the night, they can write programs. Many students who top the school in India often study under the streetlights because their homes do not have electricity. During the day, they are working to get some extra cash for the family.
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” ― Albert Einstein
8. Accountability: It’s one thing to be responsible and completely different to be accountable. Good leaders always hold themselves accountable for everything that happens in the organisation even when they were not directly involved. Cowards can always sit in the tower and command their armies to move forward. It takes an Alexander to lead from the front.
“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” — John Maxwell
John Khalkho
CEO: Dolores Education
Photo: Daniel Mcdonald on Pexels