Dear List,
Regarding leadership: I think we might be getting closer and
closer to a learning experience (at least for me). I would like
to push this discussion out even further, because I think we are
close on this Manager vs. Leader discussion...but not there yet.
<<snip>>
Laurie P. wrote: "If we had reversed the terms 'management' and
'leadership' when we first started teaching this stuff NOTHING
WOULD HAVE CHANGED, THE WORLD WOULD BE NO DIFFERENT"
<<snip>>
Laurie,
To some degree I agree with you. The terms mean nothing if you
are using the same process and focussing on the same result.
If you exclude the history of the military and the Catholic Church
and refer only to the Service Industry and Manufacturing, I think
that you will find that MANAGEMENT is still pretty much in its
infancy...well, perhaps teens. I don't think we should assume
that Management started out ONE WAY and has not evolved over the
last 90 years.
The style of Management that put Henry Fords name on automobiles,
that made Vanderbilt a symbol of wealth, or placed General Motors
in the world market...served all of these individuals very well.
But I can't help but believe that todays Corporations are calling
for something different. I have been in the automotive industry
since 1980 and things are so different (in most respects) that to
tell someone how it was before, makes them laugh. Not only are
there different values, different styles of managment, but there
is a different culture and different behaviors.
There is an overwhelming amount of literature in the book stores
on Change and Leadership and the words "leaders", "Vision"
"change" and "teams" are coming up in conferences and workshops
when they never have before. I can see the pain that a lot of
Managers are going through when they are being asked to lead.
So what is going on? Are Universities and Colleges teaching the
same theories and philosophies that they have been for the last 20
years and all of these graduates were leaving and having major
'blackouts' or what? Were Universities and Colleges all along the
true leaders of change, imparting this great knowlege that the
business environment was not ready to absorb?
Why are we taking our 'freshouts' (term for recent college grads)
and sending them to additional learning on leadership and
communication?
Our Corporation offers what we call a "Facilitator Development
workshop" to all levels of the Corporation. This is why I
mentioned in a previous mail how important I see communication in
this transition. In our workshop, we are working to get managers
to see themselves as brokers of communication instead of the
communicator; working to get them to pull information from their
work force instead of solely imparting information to them...to
become more process orientated instead of content driven. We are
working with them to develop the skills to nurture relationships
with the people who work for them, instead of demand performance
only.
We are working to get them out from behind the podiums reading
volumes of data and using pointers on overhead screens, while
asking for little input on a decision that has already been made;
to facilitating group discussion and getting ideas and experiences
from the group to make 'better' decisions, get more buyin and to
share responsibility.
The managers are seeing the great value in this for them to 'lead'
instead of just 'manage'...but it is like learning a foreign
language to them...very difficult, very painful. They act as if
this is all 'new' to them..unheard of...never before
considered...so what are they learning in the universities about
communication and leading change? When we conduct similation
exercises shortly after training...they revert right back into the
'manage' role of dictating the 'one-right-way' of doing it and
deploying the troups to follow orders. When they see themselves
on a video in this role they shake their heads and say, "This is
hard." Why is that?
I think you, Laurie, might have touched on this. Leadership, as
you say, requires the use of a lot of communication skills.
Perhaps, and I would love to hear from more of the list on this,
Universities are doing a fine job on teaching leadership and
management..but where we are not so good at is in teaching
'excellent' communication skills. Whattya think?
Thanks,
Rick Corcoran
Excel Industries
Continuous Improvement Mgr.