Management
Management and Leadership: Partners in Successby Mike Levy
In our consulting practice, we are frequently asked by our clients, "Which is more important to an organization’s success, good management or good leadership?"
We almost always answer with a resounding "Yes." (Remember, we are consultants.)
Yes, it is critical to have "good management practices and skills" in any organization and yes, it is critical to have "good leadership" present at all levels of the organization. So it’s not an either/or question.
What is the question?
The question we need to ask is, "How do I know whether to emphasize my management role or my leadership role?"
Let’s start by looking at one of the major factors influencing the answer to the question.
Change is the driving force.
Today’s business environment is greatly impacted by change in almost all aspects of the organization. Beginning with a greatly diversified and mobile workforce, there are rapid and frequent changes in technology, changes in world economies that affect our business strategies, and the need to create global alliances.
Change is ever present in our lives today.
Its impact is to create confusion, difficulty in focusing on the future and a loss of momentum each time a change occurs in the organization.
This state of constant change creates in our organizations a need for flexibility, response-ability, and adaptability.
Good management provides a degree of stability and predictability.
There was a time in our organizations when the role of management was very well defined. Management was expected to define the parameters for organizational performance and to pronounce those requirements to the rest of the organization and do it in such a way as to leave no doubt that this was the way things would be.
With the onset of frequent and rapid change, management could no longer predict with any great certainty that what was in place today would remain so in the near term.
As the organization is buffeted by change, the management role is needed to provide focus and infrastructure that effectively responds to the effects of change.
Management’s role is to:
Develop goals and objectives
Plan, organize, and allocate resources
Monitor individual and group performance
Build the infrastructure that produces a well running, efficient organization focused on building efficient operating processes
Facilitate cross-functional interaction
Diagnose and solve problems
The impact of "good management" is to build predictability, stability and efficiencies and when done well, results in what is referred to as a "well run organization."
Is it possible to have "too much of a good thing"?
As is true in most situations, appropriateness is the rule.
Too much "management" results in restrictive policies, bureaucratic systems, and an over supervised work force. This micromanagement yields an apathetic workforce unwilling and possibly unable to take initiative or risk. There is a loss of creativity and innovation, and individual performance is governed by rules rather than individual initiative and motivation.
The organization becomes rigid and unable to respond to the changing demands of the environment. It might continue to exist but only in survival mode.
Management should take a "minimalist approach".
Except in "turn around situations" where the immediate survival is at stake, the management role should be emphasized only enough to achieve standards of performance.
The role of management is to provide the "guardrails" for the performance highway and not to create barriers or to be a barrier to individual or group performance.
"Good Management" recognizes that it can’t "manage" it’s way to superior performance. It relies on "Good Leadership" to grow the organization’s capacity for dealing with change.
"Good Leadership" builds the capacity of the organization to respond to change
Leaders....
provide future direction and a compelling vision of the future
reinforce company values
Focus on aligning the organization’s processes and people with the goals and objectives of the organization
promote excitement and momentum toward outstanding achievement
lead the action
develop the capacity of the organization to sustain high levels of performance
As a result, the organization is better positioned to be competitive, to attract high caliber talent, and to lead its industry in innovation.
A well led organization is one that is flexible, adaptable and has a high level of "change-ability."
Is it possible to have too much leadership?
Certainly! Good leadership without good management leads to a loss of focus and visions of the future become hallucinations. Strategy becomes "just talk with no walk," and workers become disillusioned and disbelieving. Leaders are seen as "flaming visionaries" without the ability to promote success.
Organizations with too much leadership may drift from one course of action to another, (creating the sense of being doomed to mediocrity at best and extinction at worst.) promoting high energy efforts without coordination. Burnout and turnover are potential hazards.
Finding the Right Mix
In determining which role to emphasize, ask "Where is the organization in its life cycle and what environment is it operating in?"
Is the organization early in it’s life cycle when the demand for rapid growth is critical? If so, leadership becomes critical. The need to inspire and focus effort is important to a young, vibrant organization and any organization going through a significant change.
As the organization develops and matures, the role of management becomes increasingly important. The need for infrastructure becomes essential to create order and efficiencies.
In today’s business environment it is important to continually address this question of appropriate mix of management and leadership. There is no one right answer. The operating environment and the organization’s capacity for effectively managing the impact of change determine your response to the question.
"Good Leadership" and "Good Management" are needed to make visions become realities. Management without the vision of leadership is impoverished, and leadership without the focus of management has no lasting impact.
-----------------
Copyright© 2002, Mike Levy. All right reserved. For information contact Frog Pond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@frogpond.com.
Internet