Managing versus Leading: (Half-Day)
Introduction:  If you supervise others, no matter what level, this program is for you! The verbs “manage” and “lead” (as in “he manages that group” or “she leads this team”), and the titles “manager” and “leader”, are often used interchangeably but in fact there are meaningful differences in behavior, skill and outcome. The challenge is that in order to be fully effective, a supervisor (or “manager”, “director” or “executive”) must both “manage” and “lead” at various times for their group to be successful. So what are managers good at? What are leaders good at? What are the key differences and what are the overlaps? How can one person be both? These are some of the questions explored in this session.

Program Description:  This stimulating 3.5 hour session incorporates ideas from such well known experts on leadership as John Kotter (Harvard Business School), Ken Blanchard, Kouzes and Posner, Marshall Sashkin, Daniel Goleman and Marshall Goldsmith. Following a warm-up designed to get participants thinking about their ‘principles of leadership’, participants reflect on the “best manager I have known” and the “the best leader I have known”. The key differences are noted in what they did and how they did it. The session then provides a very brief review of the history of leadership research, from ‘The Great Man Theory’ of the 1890s to the current paradigm of “Transformational Leadership” (and a few of its more popular variants like “Servant Leadership” and “Level 5 Leadership”). Blanchard’s “Situational Leadership” is presented as a useful model that was popular years ago, along with a short inventory that tests how participants would alter their management style based on different levels of confidence/competence in their staff. Later, Kotter’s idea on managing versus leading is presented, with a self-score inventory on managing and leading. The results are shared with a partner and related action planning. Finally, the session offers several practical ideas to help participants be both better managers and leaders, for example: the importance of EQ (Emotional Quotient); a Workplace Covenant (a behavior contract between the manager and the team); and ‘Not Being a Jerk’ (based on Goldsmith’s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” examination of “stupid things” managers do).

Learning Outcomes:

Participants in this 3.5 hour workshop will:

1. Reflect on their own experience with “managers” and “leaders” and the differences
2. Learn about how the study and our understanding of managing and leading has evolved
3. Learn the key differences between “managing” and “leading” and the effects on teams
4. Assess their own skills in both managing and leading and reflecting on the results
5. Be introduced to several practical ‘strategies’ and ideas to help lead others more effectively