Leader or manager?
29 April 2008
Read by 3988 persons
The ideal boss doesn't exist, but there are qualities that make a good manager. Coaches, managers, executives... Everyone agrees that strategic vision and leadership are essential for success.
Are you a good manager? The answer isn't always obvious. In fact, there was a time when we appreciated the directive, authoritarian, or paternalistic manager. Later, we praised the charismatic, unifying, leader manager...
Actually, managing an organization, company, or other entity, regardless of its size, is not easy. You must know how to make the right decisions at the right time, reward, face antagonisms, manage conflicts, and make difficult choices, such as dismissing or sanctioning when necessary. This requires many technical and behavioral qualities, which can be possessed from the outset or acquired by facing the realities of life.
Good managers know how to assert themselves without complexes
It should also be noted that, for some years now, companies subjected to environmental turbulence are always looking for new leaders, capable of adapting but also of changing the behavior of their employees.
It is therefore difficult to define a typical profile of the ideal manager. We can only identify a few characteristics considered essential for anyone wishing to succeed in their management mission. All recent surveys on the management styles of bosses have shown that their roles have diversified considerably. Thus, a manager today must above all be a visionary for his company. But management specialists, for their part, insist on another quality: leadership.And they emphasize the difference between a leader (someone who knows what to do) and a manager (someone who only knows how to do it).When recruiting, talent scouts always check that candidates have leadership qualities, even when it comes to recent graduates. These qualities become essential as one progresses in a career.
Knowing how to listen to one's employees
Manfred Kets de Vries, psychoanalyst and leadership specialist, has long devoted his works to unveiling the mysteries of great leaders. For him, these leaders know how to assert themselves without complexes. Among the most enlightening examples is that of Lindsay Owen Jones, the president of L'Oréal. He had so impressed his recruiter during his job interview that the latter concluded his report with this observation: "Will become CEO or will be fired"...
Patrick Barrau, professional coach and CEO of the Maroc Devenir firm, recalls that "a good manager, especially a leader, is someone who takes initiative, motivates and gathers goodwill, but at the same time, delegates and empowers his employees. He is able to remain in the shadows when nothing calls him to the forefront and to expose himself when necessity demands it. He is a pioneer and opens the doors to the future, but can also go against the prevailing opinion. He abandons purely operational thinking in favor of evolutionary and anticipatory thinking, focused on the needs of tomorrow and the evolution of products and organizations".
Above all, "a leader inspires others to achieve projects, objectives, and even their dreams. He helps those around him to acquire personal sovereignty and restores meaning to the most difficult, most dreaded moments. Finally, he also combines a deep and practical intelligence with great strength of character. This is essential for him not to be destabilized by events and by beings", he adds.
However, to earn the esteem of his employees, a good manager must also know how to listen. In management styles, there are two profiles: those who speak and those who listen. The latter are more likely to achieve the objective. One cannot show empathy if one does not deeply analyze the expectations of others. It is also not enough to lend an ear to one's interlocutor but to be able to give clear feedback", notes the boss of an SME. It is a real coaching job that must be carried out.
Isn't it also said that a manager is respected for what he is, while a leader is respected for what he does? A former multinational executive said: "The legitimacy of a great leader lies in his ability to serve and not to serve himself". This means that humility is also a highly valued quality among managers.
Finally, a good manager is one who knows how to make the right decisions when necessary. He also knows how to be authoritarian, especially when it comes to resolving a problem. But this is in no way a question of imposing oneself arbitrarily.
Posted on November 4, 2008
keyros.net
Are you a good manager? The answer isn't always obvious. In fact, there was a time when we appreciated the directive, authoritarian, or paternalistic manager. Later, we praised the charismatic, unifying, leader manager...
Actually, managing an organization, company, or other entity, regardless of its size, is not easy. You must know how to make the right decisions at the right time, reward, face antagonisms, manage conflicts, and make difficult choices, such as dismissing or sanctioning when necessary. This requires many technical and behavioral qualities, which can be possessed from the outset or acquired by facing the realities of life.
Good managers know how to assert themselves without complexes
It should also be noted that, for some years now, companies subjected to environmental turbulence are always looking for new leaders, capable of adapting but also of changing the behavior of their employees.
It is therefore difficult to define a typical profile of the ideal manager. We can only identify a few characteristics considered essential for anyone wishing to succeed in their management mission. All recent surveys on the management styles of bosses have shown that their roles have diversified considerably. Thus, a manager today must above all be a visionary for his company. But management specialists, for their part, insist on another quality: leadership.And they emphasize the difference between a leader (someone who knows what to do) and a manager (someone who only knows how to do it).When recruiting, talent scouts always check that candidates have leadership qualities, even when it comes to recent graduates. These qualities become essential as one progresses in a career.
Knowing how to listen to one's employees
Manfred Kets de Vries, psychoanalyst and leadership specialist, has long devoted his works to unveiling the mysteries of great leaders. For him, these leaders know how to assert themselves without complexes. Among the most enlightening examples is that of Lindsay Owen Jones, the president of L'Oréal. He had so impressed his recruiter during his job interview that the latter concluded his report with this observation: "Will become CEO or will be fired"...
Patrick Barrau, professional coach and CEO of the Maroc Devenir firm, recalls that "a good manager, especially a leader, is someone who takes initiative, motivates and gathers goodwill, but at the same time, delegates and empowers his employees. He is able to remain in the shadows when nothing calls him to the forefront and to expose himself when necessity demands it. He is a pioneer and opens the doors to the future, but can also go against the prevailing opinion. He abandons purely operational thinking in favor of evolutionary and anticipatory thinking, focused on the needs of tomorrow and the evolution of products and organizations".
Above all, "a leader inspires others to achieve projects, objectives, and even their dreams. He helps those around him to acquire personal sovereignty and restores meaning to the most difficult, most dreaded moments. Finally, he also combines a deep and practical intelligence with great strength of character. This is essential for him not to be destabilized by events and by beings", he adds.
However, to earn the esteem of his employees, a good manager must also know how to listen. In management styles, there are two profiles: those who speak and those who listen. The latter are more likely to achieve the objective. One cannot show empathy if one does not deeply analyze the expectations of others. It is also not enough to lend an ear to one's interlocutor but to be able to give clear feedback", notes the boss of an SME. It is a real coaching job that must be carried out.
Isn't it also said that a manager is respected for what he is, while a leader is respected for what he does? A former multinational executive said: "The legitimacy of a great leader lies in his ability to serve and not to serve himself". This means that humility is also a highly valued quality among managers.
Finally, a good manager is one who knows how to make the right decisions when necessary. He also knows how to be authoritarian, especially when it comes to resolving a problem. But this is in no way a question of imposing oneself arbitrarily.
Posted on November 4, 2008
keyros.net
