RAINMAKERS
plan to the entire firm misses the opportunity to preach vision and inspire the team to rise to the challenge ahead . Make the time to get both functions right .
Conclusion
“ Focus on being balanced - success is balance .” Mohammed Ali , Professional Boxer .
Leaders set direction and communicate to align people . Managers plan and coordinate . Highperforming organizations reward , develop , and balance both roles .
Although you need leaders and managers on your team to succeed , quite often out of necessity - particularly in a small or high-growth firm - you may have to perform both functions simultaneously . If this is the case , be sure you are fully aware of which role you are occupying at any given moment in time .
If you ’ re wearing your manager hat to run a planning meeting , fulfill the role by focusing on the details , on planning , and on coordinating people , systems , and outputs . You must do the same in other situations
“ If you ’ re wondering whether it ’ s possible for someone to be both a strong leader ( visionary and change agent ) and a strong manager ( operator ), it is - but that combination is exceptionally rare .”
when you wear your leader hat , communicating vision , inspiration , direction , and the need for change to the team .
Further , know which of the roles is your stronger suit and - if possible - ensure you have at least one person on your team who compliments your strength with their own in the opposite area . This is the essence of the balanced visionary / integrator concept that Wickman and Winters wrote about in Rocket Fuel .
Finally , keep an eye toward the future and consider how you are developing tomorrow ’ s leaders and managers as you scale .
Although by now you understand the imperative to develop both , most organizations I ’ ve encountered have a “ leadership development ” process that produces managers , not leaders ! That kind of confusion won ’ t get
you where you want to go . Rather , use these principles to evaluate and optimize development tracks for future leaders and future managers in your firm .
As Kotter explained , “ the real challenge is to combine strong leadership and strong management and use each to balance the other .” Where is your current balance point and what do you need to do about it to steer your organization in the right direction ? ■
Dr . Clifford J . Ferguson is the Managing Partner of Rainmakers , and Board Member of Glad ’ s House Kenya . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at :
Drcliffordjferguson @ me . com
Telephone : + 254 - 746 - 308 377 E : Info @ marketingafrica . co . ke