{"id":81174,"date":"2021-01-29t12:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-29t17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=81174"},"modified":"2021-08-12t17:59:43","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12t21:59:43","slug":"do-you-lead-or-just-manage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2021\/01\/29\/do-you-lead-or-just-manage\/","title":{"rendered":"do you lead or just manage?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>5 questions to answer.<\/strong><\/p>\n by anthony zecca let\u2019s look at examples of managing versus leading from two actual clients.<\/p>\n stuck in managing \u2013 center leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n i was retained by the owner\/ceo of a $40 million manufacturer of a home products company. the current leader inherited the business from his dad, and over 20+ years grew the business on the top line, but always struggled with profitability. over the last few years, however, there was no top-line growth and he was frustrated.<\/p>\n more on edge leadership: <\/b>assessing your firm<\/a> | the 4 traits of great cpa leaders<\/a> | why leaders must ensure clarity<\/a> | incremental vs. exceptional success<\/a> | do you lead or just manage?<\/a> | managing vs. leading<\/a> | is your leadership team at the edge?<\/a> | 6 leadership challenges through covid and beyond<\/a> | edge leaders share 7 strengths<\/a> | leadership must drive culture<\/a> | leading from the edge<\/a> his leadership view of the future was the next quarter, and the company had no strategy or vision beyond the current year. the most he thought about the future was when they were preparing their annual budget. this was an incremental process versus a real bottom-up process coupled with a growth strategy so as a management tool, the budget was relatively useless. when i get retained for this type of project, my first task is to shadow the leader for a day to see where they spend their time and what kind of leadership is being provided. i sat in the corner of his office and watched manager after manager coming in to ask, \u201chow should we handle this\u201d or \u201cwe have a problem with this customer\u2019s order, what should we do\u201d \u2013 you get the gist. i was fascinated to watch this ceo ask very few questions, tell the person what to do and all too often belittle the individual. not a healthy leadership style or a healthy culture to say the least. i had my work cut out for me on this one, but i knew that the ceo was very interested in changing and creating a more strategic focus for growth and more importantly creating a better team.<\/p>\n i planned and facilitated a two-day retreat focused on developing a two-year tactical plan and addressing leadership at all levels. it was a productive retreat, and the ceo was involved and supportive. we developed a strong two-year tactical plan (including improving the skills of his team) along with a project plan and left the retreat somewhat upbeat about the future. the plan depended on the ceo moving from managing to leading and giving his management team the authority to make decisions based on the boundaries that were agreed to at the retreat.<\/p>\n to make a long story short, at our first monthly status update, the ceo was obviously troubled, and after the meeting he and i met. i asked him what was troubling him. his answer was, \u201ctony, no one is coming to me to ask what to do, and now i don\u2019t know what i am supposed to do with my time.\u201d regardless of what i suggested, like maybe visiting his key clients, he resisted. we both realized that he did not want to lead, he wanted to manage and over the next few months, his office became a turnstile again and the tactical plan became just words on a document \u2013 talk with no results. what\u2019s the old saying about leading a horse to water!<\/p>\n although you might think the above is an extreme case, in my experience it was more the norm in so many organizations reflecting the challenge leaders face in stepping away from managing \u2013 building a strong team and leading<\/strong> the company. too many leaders are stuck in the center, because they don\u2019t know any other way to lead or have the confidence in their team \u2013 so they manage.<\/p>\n success through edge leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n this midsized accounting firm had delivered financial results year after year that most firms would envy. the firm was not unique in the services it provided, and operated in one of most competitive markets in the u.s. the leader had been the managing partner for a number of years.<\/p>\n i was retained to lead a retreat focusing on both longer-term strategy and addressing tactical challenges facing the firm. he was confident in his leadership and the performance of the firm and leadership, but he was interested in a facilitated retreat where all the partners could have the opportunity to think and challenge the future vision he had for the firm. he wanted to make sure that they were on a sound path forward and a path that everyone believed in.<\/p>\n during the retreat, we discussed the future opportunities and challenges facing the firm. we discussed and reaffirmed the five-year vision and what the firm aspired to become. the discussion was lively, and we left the retreat with a clear plan (strategies, deliverables, responsibilities, timing). the firm leader participated at an appropriate level and was active with me in ensuring that all the partners participated in the discussions. although the retreat was really good, the key for me to understand his leadership was as i observed his actions post-retreat. what made him an edge leader?<\/p>\n while this edge leader\u2019s expectations might be high versus what most firm leaders expect from their partners and staff, he made sure that his team clearly understood his expectations and that they understood the purpose \u2013 why these expectations mattered. he also made sure that everyone shared in the success of the firm and how far any one person rose in the organization was a result of individual choice and effort, not time in the firm or \u201cconnections.\u201d he saw his role as coach and mentor to help each person\u2019s individual choices lead to success for the firm and the individual. he understood that he needed the right people on the \u201cbus\u201d (jim collins) if the firm was going to be successful and remain a standout, high-performing firm.<\/p>\n as you evaluate if your leadership, here are the questions that you need to answer:<\/p>\n there are various reasons why the leader of a firm might spend most of their time managing as a center leader and not leading as an edge leader. the two primary reasons are:<\/p>\n \u201cassembling the right team and then letting them lead and do their job is the responsibility of the leader.\u201d \u2013 glenn friedman, leader of pragermetis<\/p><\/blockquote>\n no leader can be effective if the team beneath him is ineffective for whatever reason. as jim collins in his great book \u201cgood to great\u201d stated, you need to have the right people on the bus \u2013 period end of story.<\/p>\n edge leaders will challenge themselves regarding how they are leading and whether their leadership is taking the firm to where it needs to be in order to achieve its strategic objectives and become a standout, high-performing firm. edge leaders are never satisfied with where the firm is today, and are constantly assessing whether the firm is on the right path to achieve the future vision. center leaders, as in the first case study above, manage because that is what their experience tells them. edge leaders, as in the second case, lead from the edge and constantly toward their vision of the future because that is what they know will achieve success.<\/p>\n \u201ci keep asking myself and others will what i am doing today help us get to where we want to be? don\u2019t focus performance on what you did yesterday and historical metrics; tell me what you have done to move this firm forward to what we want it to be.\u201d \u2013 jane scaccetti, leader of drucker & scaccetti<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 questions to answer.<\/strong>
\nleading from the edge<\/a><\/i>
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\nexclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\nthe owner also complained that his team were a \u201cbunch of workers that could not make a decision\u201d and that he needed help in crafting a transformation plan that would drive the company\u2019s growth and profit and create a more effective management team.<\/p>\n\n
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\nby anthony zecca<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3698,"featured_media":79073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1363,2259,3120,3002],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-leadership","category-pro-member-exclusive","category-special"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n