Jaded Julie Learns about Leaders and Managers

“In our last session, Curmudge, you said we would talk about my becoming a leader. Can you teach me what I need to know?”

“Julie, I can’t teach you how to become a leader, because you already are one. Perhaps that will become evident after we describe the characteristics of leaders and managers.”

“As usual, I’m going to get a ten-dollar answer to a ten-cent question. Okay, Curmudge, proceed.”

“When I was a manager, we didn’t make a distinction between leadership and management. We led and coached, but back then most everything was somewhat hierarchical.”

“Hey, Curmudge, that’s one big word that I know. Hierarchical is like in grade school when the nun had a ruler in her hand.”

“I think your definition is incomplete, Julie, but it certainly captures the spirit of the word.”

“So what is the distinction between leadership and management?”

“It depends upon whose book you read. According to John Kotter—remember him from last time—‘Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen.’ ‘Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly.’ Kotter feels that too much management and too little leadership can produce a strong bureaucracy and inhibit a cultural transformation. That could be a big problem for an organization undergoing change, like Affinity.”

“It seems to me that Professor Kotter is focused on executives and those in upper levels of management. But what about me? You said I could be a leader. There must be more to the story.”

“There certainly is, Julie. Mitch McCrimmon (http://www.leadersdirect.com) has a narrower view of leadership and gives management a broader scope. He says that leadership—which he calls ‘thought leadership’—is an impact on a group that causes them to change their thinking, values, beliefs, or attitudes. Once the new idea is accepted, its propagation and implementation are the function of management. The Toyota Production System, the foundation for Lean, encourages everyone to generate new ideas; the ideas gain acceptance when their originators exhibit leadership laterally and even upwards. So that, Julie, is how you can be a leader.”

“Which of these definitions of leadership and management is best, Curmudge?”

“It’s not a one-or-the-other issue, Julie. Differentiating between leadership and management within the top executive ranks is not critical as long as their efforts are taking the organization in the right direction. In our present case, that means toward a Lean culture. Of course, the executives should be aware of McCrimmon so they don’t stifle thought leadership coming from below. However, this differentiation is important in gemba, where all workers are encouraged to lead in increasing efficiency and reducing waste. The workers may not be managers, but they most certainly can be leaders.”

“What else did McCrimmon say about leaders, Curmudge?”

“He said that there are only two positions, leadership and followership. At any point in time one must occupy one position or the other, and you can shift from leader to follower in an instant.”

“I presume that you are going to give me an example.”

“Of course—a down-home drama. As dinner time approaches I sometimes try to provide diplomatic leadership by suggesting to Mrs. Curmudgeon, ‘What are you going to fix for dinner?’ Then she takes the lead by replying, ‘Look in the freezer and fix whatever you’d like.’, and I immediately become a follower.”

“And the moral of your story is…”

“It’s preferable to be a follower than to starve.”

“See you next time, Curmudge.”

Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon