Embracing Leadership in a Management Dominated World
Leadership and management both have their roles in the professional world, but people are managed four times more than they are led. Embracing leadership can be challenging for many reasons, and can hinder progress and success in an organization. Tom Flick, interviewed by John Golden, discusses the ways that salespeople and business professionals can truly embrace leadership in a world where management is more prominent.
This expert sales interview explores embracing leadership, including:
- Understanding the differences between leadership and management
- How to define leadership
- How to define management
- Three key tips to becoming a good leader
Leadership vs. Management:
There is a disconnect between leadership and management. The importance is on the actions and behaviors of the person, not the title of leader or manager. It’s a point of distinction that important to recognize, especially because we are over-managed and under-led by a factor of four to one. This tendency to be more managed than led has created issues in cooperate America. There is a disconnect between leadership and management. The focus is on the actions and behaviors of the individual, not the title of leadership or management. “It’s a point of dysfunction that changes the outcome of how we do business today in the world,” said Flick.
Defining Leadership:
Leadership is rooted in vision and strategy. It involves communicating that vision and strategy, motivation action, getting buy-in, and removing barriers, among other things. It takes complex systems within people, and creates innovation, opportunities, and growth from these systems.
Defining Management:
Often times, people in leadership roles will think they’re being leaders, but in reality, they’ll be utilizing more management behaviors and techniques. They might say words like controlling, when a leader aligns, or planning, when a leader envisions. Management is, in essence, the opposite of leadership. It includes budgeting, staffing, controlling, smart problem solving, and planning.
The Disconnect:
Part of the problem with the disconnect between leadership and management is that management activities don’t move you towards your goal. If you get any traction, the progress is very slow. In a world that changes rapidly, there isn’t time for slow progress. “We need to lead more than we manage, or at least level the teeter totter out. That’s the big issue that we face right now,” said Flick. It’s a difficult balancing act, though.
Three Steps to Leadership:
There are three key steps salespeople can utilize to become good leaders. The first is embracing self-leadership. You can’t truly take on the leadership role if without being a self-leader first. “It’s something you need to develop within yourself first, and exercise it in a way that you strengthen the leadership muscles,” said Flick. “Leadership is the name of the game.” Secondly, the speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack. How fast you as a leader can get your sales team together to jump through a window of opportunity that opens and closes so quickly is critically important. Finally, integrating the head and the heart is at the foundation of good leadership. Often times, leadership is presented as an intellectual exercise. The emphasis is on ROI and analytics, but if you really want to be the worlds great, feelings are more effective than thought when it comes to enacting change. “Appealing to the heart is a big part of leadership,” said Flick.
To learn more about Tom Flick click here. or Bonsai Media Group
About our Host:
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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