Management vs Leadership

October 22, 2011 • Blog, bloggers, Leadership, Thoughts • by
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Seth Godin had a great post this morning on the difference between leadership and management.

“Managers work to get their employees to do what they did yesterday, but a little faster and a little cheaper.

Leaders, on the other hand, know where they’d like to go, but understand that they can’t get there without their tribe, without giving those they lead the tools to make something happen.

Managers want authority. Leaders take responsibility.”

I definitely think that people confuse the two and I think they are two distinct roles and often require two very different kinds of people. Managers tend to see incremental change where as leaders dream of innovation.

In the nonprofit sector I think we have an over-abundance of managers. Many executive directors are trying to incrementally change there programming year over year, when, to really solve problems, we need drastic innovation.

Global Leadership Summit

August 23, 2011 • Blog, Leadership • by
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I know the blog has been a little quiet lately. I was on vacation with my family last week and the week before I was at the Global Leadership Summit hosted by Willow Creek. The GLS is something I have attended for over 10 years. It is an annual leadership development event which draws some of the top leaders from business, the social sector, and the church together for 2 days. Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Jack Welch, and Bono.

This year’s Summit might be the best one yet, at least the best I can remember. A stellar line-up with Seth Godin, Michelle Rhee, and Cory Booker. There was some amazing surprises as well like Mama Maggie Gobran of Egypt and Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte.

The emerging theme of the conference was that leaders need to take action. I think this is so applicable for leaders of non-profits. So often we can get bogged down by bureaucracy, lack of resources, or fear and yet the most important thing we can do is act, and act today.

I am a huge fan of leadership development and if you are a leader be sure to attend the 2012 Global Leadership Summit.

Good Intentions or Good Thought?

July 15, 2011 • Beliefs, Blog, Measurement & Evaluation • by
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Seth Godin has a great post today entitled Naive or Professional? I think he’s right on and it applies especially to the social sector. In the social sector though, I think we see the good intentioned and the good thought.

The good intentioned care, a lot. They sacrifice and they show up early and stay late. They give and give and give and yet always seem to be just scraping by. They seek to meet the immediate need. The good intentioned never have the time to stop and think about what they are doing because they are too busy caring for people.

The good thought measure and evaluate their work. They seek to improve themselves. They set boundaries and do what’s best for the long-term good of their clients and those they work with. They care but are able to detach enough to think clearly.

Good intentions are necessary but they are not sufficient when it comes to creating positive social change. Good intentions power people forward but good thought ensures that you are accomplishing what you care about.