The following is a guest blog from Jim Simpson of J Simpson & Associates (Thanks Jim!)
Leadership has been a key “buzzword” in business circles for some time now. It is the center of a trilogy of attributes that are instrumental to the success of a business. The three components in this trilogy include Management, Leadership and Execution.
Management is about doing things “right”. It is about understanding the goals of the company or division one is responsible for and taking the necessary steps to achieve them. It is about job descriptions, written policies and procedures, the effective training of the staff and efficient scheduling. It is “left-brain” thinking, generally short-term.
Leadership is about doing the “right thing”. You make decisions based on what is written in the mission and vision statements which you helped develop. It is primarily “right-brained”, long-term thinking. Decisions are not limited to what has worked in the past, but rather what “could” be. It’s all about possibilities and the unknown.
Execution should be the natural result of the combination of great management and leadership. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Execution is the most difficult of the three attributes to realize. It is “where the rubber meets the road”. It takes the right mixture of leadership and management skills to get excellent results.
We will begin examining each of these attributes in greater detail in future blogs. Until then think about the differences you can observe between management and leadership and share your thoughts. The behaviors are very different and evident under observation.
Jim Simpson is the president of J SIMPSON AND ASSOCIATES, LLC in Shelby Township, Michigan. Specializing in Executive Coaching and Leadership Team Development, Jim has worked with the Management Team at Evans Distribution Systems since 2010. www.jsimpsonandassociates.com