You Choose: Boss, Manager or Leader

a list of choices ...

Boss – person who has their name above another person’s name on an org chart
Manager – controls/implements according to set priorities/goals/strategies
Leader – inspires/capitalizes on opportunities and facilitates positive results

Whether you read the title of this article as who you’d choose to work for or how you’d choose to be considered by others (or both), our Western aspirations for those in charge include achieving the realm of “leader”. Unfortunately, some organization’s hierarchies hold bosses in positions that would ideally be inhabited by leaders. A good partial anecdote to UNleaders is that real leaders and leadership can be found anywhere in an organization – regardless of title or level on the org chart. I also believe that while leadership requires talent, many leadership skills can be taught/learned.


If you are interested in reading more about
Leadership and Strength Based Approaches to Leadership:

Transforming Leadership: Equipping Yourself and Coaching Others to Build a Leadership Organization (2nd ed)
By Terry D. Anderson, PhD
T&F Informa 1998

In the book, Transforming Leadership, Terry Anderson offers the Leadership Skills Inventory that examines 56 skills commonly demonstrated by effective leaders. The 56 skills fall under five categories: (1) personal mastery (2) interpersonal communication (3) counseling and problem management (4) team and organizational development (5) versatility in style, role and skill-shifting. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in an academic and practical approach to describing and identifying effective leadership. I like how the book covers leadership as a big picture concept, but also addresses some specific aspects of effective leadership.


*First, Break all the Rules
By Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
(Gallup Press 1999)

Now, Discover your Strengths
By Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton, PhD
(Gallup Press 2001)

* StrengthsFinder 2.0
By Tom Rath
(Gallup Press 2007)
** This is an update to Now, Discover Your Strengths.

* Strength Based Leadership
By Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
(Gallup Press 2009)

The Gallup series listed above is, as I’ve mentioned several times, at the top of my suggested reading list. The strength themes are valuable as a personal self-awareness tool and as guidance for practicing the recognition of a variety of strengths in people with whom we work. Rather than just valuing strengths naturally part of our awareness, these books can challenge us to value a broader set of strengths (in ourselves and others) for personal and organizational success.

To give the strength themes meaning, it is important to take the StrengthsFinder assessment and read at least one of the books. If your organization is trying to create a strength-based culture and approach to management/leadership, I believe an effective training program can be created with the use of the three books I’ve marked with an asterisk. Ideally, everyone in the organization would take the StrengthsFinder assessment and post their strengths in a visible place. I think that this is much more practical approach to “personality at work” than Myers-Briggs and some other assessments that are commonly used in team building.

34 Strength Themes
Achiever
Activator
Adaptability
Analytical
Arranger
Belief
Command
Communication
Competition
Connectedness
Context
Deliberative
Developer
Discipline
Empathy
Fairness
Focus
Futuristic
Harmony
Ideation
Inclusiveness
Individualization
Input
Learner
Maximizer



Leadership in Organizations
By Gary Yukl
Pearson Prentice Hall 2006

To get another good perspective on leadership (or any topic), I suggest investigating textbooks. While current textbooks can be expensive ($100-$200), they provide good in-depth discussions of subject matter in comparison to most popular books ($15-$30) found on our favorite bookstore shelves.

List of Chapters from
Leadership in Organizations:

Introduction: Nature of Leadership
Nature of Managerial Work
Perspectives on Effective Leadership Behavior
Participative Leadership, Delegation and Empowerment
Dyadic Role Making, Attributions and Followership
Power and Influence
Managerial Traits and Skills
Early Contingency Theories of Effective Leadership
Charismatic and Transformational Leadership
Leading Change in Organizations
Leadership in Teams and Decision Groups
Strategic Leadership by Executives
Developing Leadership Skills
Ethical Leadership and Diversity
Overview and Integration


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