In finishing 'Love & Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership' by James A. Autry, his final sections were reflections of decades of leadership. This one point jumped out at me. It is easier to manage when you have authority and what you say goes. It is harder to manage when those who work with you do not work FOR you; for example, in a volunteer organization.
If you can build up a good rapport and strong team in an environment where people are there because they want to be there, rather than being there because of a paycheck or benefits, then you are showing greater leadership and management skills.
Sometimes we misunderstand our performance as leader or manager when our staff follows our every order. That is their job. Their doing it may not be out of their joy in following us. It may be out of a desire to be compensated.
I remember years ago when the company I worked for had a large list of system enhancements which was updated nearly every day. New ideas would be prioritized and added and others bumped on a weekly or monthly basis. I noticed that new ideas would come by the CEO's desk and he would immediately suggest adding them to the list and bumping other items which could have been sitting there for years. When I questioned the CEO on this, he did not seem to realize the impact of his actions. He said that since he was the CEO, that his desires may have a greater level of impact on decisions than other employees. I just sighed.
In a volunteer organization, being the boss would not always give that same level of authority. Leaders and managers would need to negotiate more with their fellow volunteers and get buy in, agreement and consensus on system enhancements. Only when the volunteers truly respected the leader would their influence and thus authority grow.
That is leaders in volunteer organizations cannot simply waive their title around and expect everyone to follow. They must earn respect, and gain influence first.
Getting that experience with volunteer organizations then can help us in our other jobs and endeavors, as we can lead with the influence and trust we cultivate in those we work with. That is, they follow because they want to, not because their paycheck is contingent on it.
If you want to lead where those who are to follow you do so because they want to, then join a volunteer organization and get experience navigating those waters.
Try it. Volunteer somewhere.
Enjoy!
Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
502-533-9336
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment