One thing’s for sure, there is no shortage of opinions on how to manage and lead a construction business. Opinions are most often born from experience so when we opine we are in effect speaking from the perspectives of our own experiences. If I’ve had good luck managing through fear, then I’m no doubt twice as likely to advocate fear-based management. If I’ve had good luck leading by example then I’m going to advocate example-based leadership.
From a general perspective, managing a construction business is not really that different from any other business. Sure it has it’s unique aspects but, management is management, right? You’re controlling materials and labor to achieve dominance over time, space and money. But leadership is a different animal entirely.
It’s popular in our culture to want to say that great leaders are great managers. We regularly heap both titles on everyone who does a great job at leading, or managing. The fact is though, most great managers are not leaders, and most great leaders are not managers.
But Duane, you blaspheme!
Not really. I suspect the abilities are not only opposed, but that they are diametrically opposed, and so is the place from where they arise within a person.
Leaders operate from their hearts while managers operate from their heads. So unless a lot of people recently got enlightened to the point where their inner purpose is aligned with their outer purpose, there are not many that would be able to be both managers and leaders at the same time. Some people who think about and write about these things choose words that tip us off to the differences between leadership and management. One example is Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership Blog where he explores the finer points of that topic and in one post explains what being a boss is all about:
You’ve got two jobs. You must accomplish the mission through the team. And you must care for the people who make up your team.
Caring for the people sounds distinctly ‘heart-related.” It seems to me he also recognizes the inherent coldness in managed systems when he recognizes the lack of help that may exist within them, and extolls leaders to take care of their own development. Meanwhile, Gordon M. Bethune, former CEO of Continental Airlines goes one step farther by connecting the mission’s success with the leader’s success.
Here’s my theory: Let’s say we’re all midlevel managers, and one V.P. slot is going to open up. I’ve got 10 guys working for me, and for the last five years, every time I got any recognition, I said, “Bring them on the stage with me.” Who do you think is going to get the job? I’m going to get the job.
Coming from the other side of the desk, as the one doing the hiring, Bethune implies the decision is more from the gut, than from the mind.
You know it when you see it. And so you’ve got to click. Somebody who knows what they’re doing, who has a good track record, they come across as very articulate, bright and looking for a challenge — that’s absolutely my kind of hire.
But what about the need to innovate? Isn’t that a key requisite for leaders today, given the pace of change? According to researchers Hal Gregersen, Jeffrey Dyer and Clayton Christensen, there are five key ‘discovery’ skills that have to be developed by creative entrepreneurs, and Gregersen claims you don’t need to be tops in all of them. The article points out that:
Some well-known business leaders such as Apple’s Steve Jobs and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos rely on their own particular strengths since innovative entrepreneurs rarely excel at all five discovery skills. For example, Scott Cook of Intuit is strong in observational skills. Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce.com, does a lot of networking, he says. As for Bezos, “experimentation was his forte,” while Jobs is “incredibly strong at associating.”
You can read about the five discovery skills at the link above and you will no doubt be surprised at how much they hinge upon relationships. The person that is open to experiencing the world is more open to relationships, and relationships foster innovation. Relationships may also be the key component good leaders focus on, and that seems to suggest leadership springs more from the heart than the head.
