Much has been written in management literature about management and leadership. From the management perspective, management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. Essentially, management is about making things happen and achieving expected results through people.
In the role of managing, we consider the quality, characteristics and behavioral aspects of management leadership to achieve superior performance. While it is important to recognise and promote leadership, over the last decade there has been too much emphasis on ‘hero’ or ‘iconic’ leaders, while ‘servant’ or ‘management’ leaders who go about achieving great results quietly are often forgotten.
These humble, quiet achievers and servant leaders are referred to as the Level 5 leaders in Jim Collin’s book “Good to Great”. They go about building profitable, sustainable businesses and accomplish great results in an unassuming way.
These management leaders achieve great outcomes because they have learned the ‘secret code of managership’ comprising 28 personal competency requisites and performing habits of management leadership. Through this mastery, they are able to enlist their superiors, fellow managers and workers to work zealously together to pursue a common mission and shared vision.
Management Leadership
Many management writers have incorrectly distinguished managers as those being able to perform tasks that only deal with the efficiency of the business, and leaders as those who can undertake tasks which focus on the effectiveness of the business. However, great management leaders possess the capabilities of both an efficient manager and effective leader, depending on the situation.
Hence, management leadership is the exercise of both these capabilities and competencies through individual high performance within an understanding of operational and strategic requirements. One characteristic of great management leaders is that they are also good followers; if necessary, they can be just one of the team players, allowing others to assume the leadership role.
Characteristics of Management Leaders
High performing leaders become successful because of the reverence and support from their team of competent managers. Outstanding management leaders always acknowledge that they stand on the shoulders of the great managers that they have. No great management leader can achieve a sustainable superior outcome on his own.
There is now a renewed clarion call for managers to pursue and promote “management leadership’ or managership’ through continuous professional development and life-long learning. The challenge is to master the ability to learn faster than the rate of change happening around us. As Professor Gary Hamel says, “We are becoming ignorant at an accelerating speed.”
What is the Secret Code of Management Leadership?
I have created the mnemonics MANAGEMENT and LEADERSHIP to represent the 28 personal requisites of mastering management leadership – 10 efficiency and 10 effectiveness competencies plus 8 performing habits.
The first 10 management leadership or ‘managership’ competencies are embedded in M-A-N-A-G-E-M-E-N-T, wherein lies the Secret Code of Management’ which essentially focuses on the EFFICIENCY of tasks to be achieved:
M – Mastery of Management, being competent in the basic managerial functions of planning, organising, staffing, leading and controlling.
A – Assignment, the judicious delegation of tasks to achieve expected outcomes.
N – Negotiation of tasks and resources with bosses and colleagues to prioritise, allocate and work efficiently.
A – Achievement of set targets, output and KPIs, leading to desired objectives.
G – Generation of ideas through generative thinking or creative problem solving. E – Execution, the hallmark of good managers who execute tasks expeditiously.
M – Measurement of results for alignment and improvement. What we cannot measure we cannot control; what we cannot control we cannot change and what we cannot change we cannot improve.
E – Enlistment of people through ‘enrol and enlist’ rather than ‘command and control’, to motivate people to do their best.
N – Navigation, the ability to set direction and show the way through coaching and mentoring.
T – Team, where formidable team members and good teamwork are crucial in achieving sustainable results.
The next 10 managership competencies are endued in L-E-A-D-E-R-S-H-I-P wherein lies the Secret Code of Leadership’ which essentially focuses on the effectiveness of tasks to be achieved:
L – Long Term Vision, the strategic ability of management leaders to scan the environment, peer into the horizon and visualise the future to create an inspirational vision of a preferred future outcome.
E – Excellence, an attribute of great management leaders to set high standards, pride of work and the quest for performance excellence.
A – Advance Planning, the ability to plan forward, to set the pathway to achieve the mission and vision.
D – Direction of the business which management leaders must hold steadfast to, and share with all to ensure fast progress in the right direction, otherwise the organisation deviates further from its destination.
E – Empowerment to harness the synergy of talented people to collectively achieve great results.
R – Responsibility where everyone especially management leaders must take accountability for the ultimate consequences.
S – Service Sacrifice which most great management leaders practise as true servant leaders.
H – Humility, the endearing nature of highly respected management leaders.
I – Influence, the key enabler to engender a strong followership’.
P – Passion and Persistence, a distinctive characteristic of great management leaders.
Catalyst for Management Leadership – In order to catalyse the achievement of the aforementioned 20 efficiency and effectiveness competencies, we need to practise the 8 “I’s” Performance Habits, as follows:
Inspire – to articulate the Vision and set Direction;
Impart – to engage in Communication and provide Coaching;
Influence – to inculcate Sincerity and build Trust;
Inquire – to encourage Inquisitiveness and teach Problem Solving;
Initiate – to motivate Action and instill a sense of Urgency;
Improve – to enable Change and grant Empowerment;
Implement – to measure Performance and focus on Results; and
Innovate – to stimulate Creativity and seek out Opportunity.
These 28 requisite competencies of Management Leadership (Managership) need to be learned, developed and practised by individuals in order to become high performing management leaders. Once these competencies are mastered, the challenge is to institutionalise and integrate a management leadership culture within the organisation. This can be facilitated through the 8 Principles of Management Leadership, which will be discussed in the next installment of “Managing Globally”.
