Are You A Lead Duck?
Who are you following? Or… are you leading? Leadership is one of the core competencies I will be writing about in this series. So what is it anyway? Leadership?
By definition leadership means: the act or an instance of leading. That is a simple definition you will find in Merriam-Webster. In it’s simplicity, the bottom line is, if you think you are a leader, take a moment and look over your shoulder. What do you see? Is anyone following you? Nope? A leader with no one following is a man out for a walk, by himself. But, if you take a gander over your shoulder and there is someone back there I would say you are well on your way.
So here’s another test for you to consider when determing whether you are leading, following or just out for a walk. Where are you going? Do you have any vision? Have you communicated the vision or is that between, you, yourself and you. Good leaders have great vision. And they usually know how to communicate it, and they know how to make it happen, make the vision reality, not just a dream. So, what is the point? If you are sitting in an interview and the hiring manager ask you, “what’s the difference between a manager and a leader?” What would you say? It’s a great question. Especially if you are interviewing for a “management” position, or what I call a leadership postion. If you are going to have “ducks”, people you are responsible to manage, I submit to you, that you better be a a “lead duck”, a leader. We have enough managers out in the workforce who have no clue how to lead.
- Managers demand obedience. People tend to follow leaders naturally.
- Managers are usually experienced in a particular field, leaders walk into an organization with new ideas and move the organization to a new level.
- Managers plan and budget projects and leaders sets direction and gives clear vision.
- Managers do things right, leaders do the right thing.
There are so many more differences, but if you are asked this question in an interview, this should give you a good start. Even better if you are a leader, it is imperative that you communicate that in your interview. What supporting information do you have, examples of your leadership? Short success stories that will help you give the hiring manager a taste of who you are as a leader and what you bring to the table.
More to come on this topic!
Tags: core_competencies, definition, difference_between_manager_and_leader, dream, gander, interview, interview_chatter, leader, Leadership, Lead_Duck, management, manager, merriam, shoulder, test, visionRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Coach's Cornor, Core Competencies, For Managers, Preparation & Planning, Tough Questions
2 opinions for Are You A Lead Duck?
Chad
Nov 30, 2007 at 5:12 pm
“A leader with no one following is a man out for a walk, by himself. ”
Darlene, did you just make that up now? I love that quote! I’m going to use it, but I’ll give you credit :)
Darlene McDaniel
Nov 30, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Hey Chad, I did not make it up. But I have heard it a lot over the last year or so from my Pastor. I am a leader in my church, and we have lots of leadership meetings and trainings. I will have to ask my Pastor where he got it from. I will get back to you if I can locate the source.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: