THIRD DISCOVERY: LEADERS OR MANAGERS?

Have you ever wondered why some companies outperform their competitors without any apparent extra investments? I mean, have you seen a set of firms in the same industry, the same investment profiles, similar crop of staff and equal standing in years but different profitability; and you begin to wonder why?

I'll tell you what makes the difference: LEADERSHIP. The problem with many firms today is that they only have EXPERIENCED MANAGERS and BAD LEADERS. The truth is that NO SOCIETY, INISTITUTION, ORGANISATION or even INDIVIDUAL can be really successful without being properly led. If you're a Nigerian, our experiences as a nation, since independence, should have taught you that lesson.

One interesting thing that I just discovered (and that's my 3rd recent discovery about leadership) is that a manager is not necessarily a leader.

That's easy for everyone to know, you'll say. But I'll ask, does everyone know that? If you say "Yes, most people know," then I'll ask, "Why then do we place the academics of the candidate above his PERSON and EXPERIENCES when we make appointments? The truth is that while leadership can be learnt, the school for it is really in the heart of a man and not in any tertiary institution. You can't ever force a man to learn what he doesn't want to. Do, it makes little difference whether a man has a Harvard Business School MBA or a Yale Scholarship or is a graduate of "GREAT IFE" , if he's not a leader at heart, the best he can be is a MANAGER.



•Managers administer, leaders innovate
•Managers ask how and when, leaders ask what and why
•Managers focus on systems, leaders focus on people
•Managers do things right, leaders do the right things
•Managers maintain, leaders develop
•Managers rely on control, leaders inspire trust
•Managers have a short-term perspective; leaders have a long- term perspective
•Managers accept the status-quo; leaders challenge the status-quo
•Managers have an eye on the bottom line; leaders have an eye on the horizon
•Managers imitate, leaders originate
•Managers emulate the classic good soldier, leaders are their own person
•Managers copy, leaders show originality