From time to time, as in the last post, I will be posting some insights from Stephen R. Covey's book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." In this current post, I want to mention how Stephen describes the difference between Leadership and Management, and how we can think about them for 2009.
Leadership must come first...Top line focus. "What are the things I want to accomplish?"
Management is second...Bottom line focus. "How can I best accomplish certain things?"
As Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis have said, "Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things."
Where Is Your Ladder?
Have you ever worked and worked yet did not accomplish what you wanted to. It could be because you are "climbing the ladder of success but it's leaning against the wrong wall." So think of Management as "the efficiency in climbing the ladder of success, but Leadership as the determination of whether or not the ladder is leaning against the right wall."
Old Becomes New
Even though setting New Year's Resolutions are a bit cliché, they are still important. Like Mark Batterson says, and I paraphrase, there is a reason why God has blessed us with a new day every 24 hours and a new year every 365 days. It's so we can start over, learn from lessons past, and become new creations for the future.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"- 2 Corinthians 5:17
So as we venture our way into this awesome new year of 2009, lets think about our personal leadership and management.
Here is the game plan:
Personal Leadership = Develop your values first. Make sure your "ladder" is leaning up against the right wall.
Personal Management = Set your goals based on what you value. View your goals as "problems" to solve.
We must have Leadership to determine our vision, this will then allow us to achieve our goals in our families, in our community, professionally, and personally. And here is why:
Efficient management without effective leadership is, as an unknown source has said it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic."
Jesus knew His values. He had His "ladder" leaning against the right wall. He saw the vision...Salvation of the world. Therefore, He knew he could trust the disciples to be His managers. We are His managers now...The time is now...Carpe diem...
