Q&A Management on LinkedIn

Sonia asked: "Can someone be a good leader but not a great manager?"

This is a question that is just as relevant to Recruitment Professionals in California, as it is to recruiters in London, Consultants in Brussels and elsewhere. So here's my answer:

I subscribe to many of the views presented above. Leadership and management call for very different skill sets, I find it to be a serendipitous occurrence when the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ come together in the right proportions within one individual.

A leader is basically a salesman - able to project his passion unto others and garner their succour and support for his cause. He is a visionary and inspiration is his mojo. Great leaders lead by example.

A manager on the other hand is an organizer by nature - following a course already plotted by the leader is his primary function. His virtues are patience, consistence, prioritizing, etc.

A leader is typically brash, opting for high-risk/high reward plans, he is high in influence, initiative and dominance, he is an idea engine and a spontaneous strategist, whereas a manager is a level-headed executor that ensures the long-term goals are met and the wheels keep spinning.

So a leader with nil managerial skill is fire out of control that will eventually burn itself out, unless a manager steps in to harness the raw power and channels it productively, whereas a manager without a leader would have nothing to manage, as he is not the creative innovator/initiator, his gifts lie in organization and maintenance. A leader is focussed on the end goal, whereas the manager navigates all the hurdles on the way to it.

When the leader strikes a spark to light the fire, the manager takes over and maintains it, keeping the dream alive!

Read more business strategy and travel articles in our article section on The Cornerstones of World Business.

Oleg K. Temple, April 2011

New Horizons in 2010

Oftentimes we are so engrossed in our Earthly affairs that we are unable to admire the big picture. So in 2010, as you vie for advantage and superior position in the human Rat Race, remember to stay connected to the Universe and do something positive for the greater good – who knows where this journey leads? Picture this: The fastest man-made object ever built, the Pluto-bound New Horizons probe, ripping through space at around 31,000 miles per hour – about 40 times the speed of sound – is now about 1.527 billion miles from Earth, closer to Pluto than home! This astonishing distance has been accomplished in just a little under four years after its launch. This craft will be the first to sail by Pluto, the planet or dwarf planet or plutoid, and on to the other objects lurking in the Kuiper Belt on the outer fringes of the solar system.

“Today, 29 Dec 2009, New Horizons crossed a milestone boundary– henceforth we’re now closer to Pluto than to Earth. Go New Horizons!” the mission’s controllers tweeted Tuesday.

The New Horizons is not an orbiter; it will fly past the former planet like an arrow and continue into the unknown. However, during nine days around July 14, 2015 when the craft approaches and then passes by Pluto, it will capture and send back to us approximately 4.5 gigabytes of data.

Having accomplished its primary mission, the probe will continue moving away from the sun, just like Pioneer and Voyager missions before it.

Think of that when you face what may seem to you like insurmountable odds – if we can visit Pluto, surely you can handle your business and reign in your worldly problems! Best wishes and best of luck in 2010 from The Cornerstones of World Business Team!!

Editor's Focus on Business

By Oleg K. Temple, September 2009.

This month we're kicking off a new series of articles entitled "Editor's Focus" with the aim of illuminating the dark recesses of business to give you an insight of how experts navigating the dangerous waters of mid- and post-crisis economies are keeping their decks dry. Join me, Oleg K. Temple on a thrilling quest for clarity amidst the chaos and meet the giants that thrive atop the tough, green-leafed beanstalks of business.

Read further here.