The biggest problem for business performance and longevity today is Management. Management has replaced Leadership. Management has become a valuable personal ‘possession’ for which individuals strive and which is traded like shares on the job market. Managers by definition manage jobs that are to be done and they are directly responsible for the outcomes using resources at hand. They are not expected to develop or inspire vision in their people. But they are expected to cut ‘numbers’ when they don’t add up on the bottom line.
Organizations and countries are increasingly ‘managed’ rather than ‘lead’. Hence the problem with economies, wealth and health distribution, crime, terrorism and misinformation in the age of ‘information’.
We need inspirational leaders both at business and community or government level. I found this interesting comment on one of my LinkedIn Groups by Guido Lilio of Catholic University in Melbourne:
“I have discovered is that there significant differences when it comes to comparing managers in different countries, but less so when comparing leaders.
Leadership skills vary only slightly within cultures and that there are a group of key leadership competencies that all successful leaders need to demonstrate on the job to be successful….regardless of the country or culture.
These are: Strategic Leadership, Leading and Managing a Team, Working as part of a Team, Achieving Individual Outcomes, Managing Key Relationships and Self Management.” You could say these constitute what may be considered as ‘universal’ leadership competencies.”
