on Mar 6th, 2007What Differentiates Leadership from Management?
By Ted Santos
Most of what is taught in business school has a focus on improvement. I don’t want to throw that out. I do, however, suggest that businesses can create quantum leaps on purpose. And that is the job of leadership.
So, where do I start? I ask: What’s the difference between a manager and a leader? Managers become managers because they were great at solving problems. Those that make the transformation become senior managers. Senior leaders transform from problem solvers to problem creators. If a President or CEO spends more than 5%-10% of their time solving problems, they need to devise a plan to change that.
What do I mean by creating problems? When Jack Welch became the CEO of GE, he declared that every business unit had to be ranked #1 or #2 in their respective industries. If not, they would be sold. If you were ranked number 6, you had a problem. As number 6, you may have run your unit by reducing costs, cutting jobs and expenses to increase profitability. Except, you can’t cut your way to growth.
If you are ranked number 6, you have to look at your unit from another perspective. You need new relationships with your staff and management, customers, vendors as well as the media. You need innovation to create new products and services. Ultimately, as the unit leader, you need to create problems for your people to solve.
If you look at any extraordinary accomplishment, you find that it always followed a problem. However, creating problems is counterintuitive. We are taught to solve them, get rid of them or find out who created it and get rid of them.
To create problems on purpose requires some training as well as a new mindset. So, I have 5 do’s to support leadership’s commitment to use problem creation strategies:
1. Constantly develop yourself. Books are great. At the same time, to create quantum leaps requires you to get out of your comfort zone. It is much easier to do that if you see yourself as a high performing athlete who wants to significantly improve his or her performance. Therefore, I suggest you hire a coach or an advisor.
2. Develop an intimate understanding of your customers. Understand what their development needs are and what they anticipate in the future. Oftentimes, customers need things they don’t know how to describe. That’s an opportunity to create something that has not existed, which can be a problem.
3. Delegate! If you try to do it all yourself, the growth of your company will be limited to what you can do. You can’t do everything. Besides, if you are doing everything, you are an employee, instead of the president of the company. As you delegate, you create a learning organization. Your people will learn new skills and competencies. More importantly, it frees you up to learn new skills and competencies.
4. Always create new products, services and productivity processes. If you are not doing it, your competitors will. And then it is difficult to make the momentum. As a side note, when disruptive technology is created, someone from outside the industry usually creates it. They look at your industry from another perspective. This is why it is important to develop yourself and constantly pull yourself out of your comfort zone.
5. Turn problems into opportunities. Usually, when we encounter problems, we look for what’s wrong. Then, we fix it. Problems are great opportunities. They uncover what’s missing. Every organization has something missing. When you identify what’s missing, you can take actions to fulfill the missing. That way, you continue moving forward. When you focus on the problem, you lose sight of the big picture for the company’s vision.
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Ted Santos is the CEO of Turnaround Investment Partners; a NY based firm that advises executives/owners/teams who are uncertain about executing high-level change initiatives. TIP imparts tools and develops processes to create breakthroughs in revenues and innovation. Ted can be reached at tsantos@turnaroundip.com or 888 471-3660. www.turnaroundip.com
