Managing Leadership^®

Interestingly, the great management thinker Peter Drucker described the term “management” as “a singularly difficult one.” But the title of the book in which he said this offers a concise enough summary of his take on what it is: Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. Moreover, the scope of that work denotes the great range and importance of the field.

But one thing he did say that we know without a doubt is that management is professional:

We further know that management is independent of ownership, rank, or power. It is objective function and ought to be grounded in the responsibility for performance. . . It is no longer relevant whether the manager is also an owner; if he is, it is incidental to his main function, which is to be a manager.”

This distinction between the organizational roles of ownership and management, may seem strange in today’s world of dual-hatted CEO/chairs. And the cynical chorus of praise rained down on those who act upon what are taught as singular individual leadership characteristics, from which alone emanate business success – indeed, according to some, the organization itself – certainly acts to dilute the professionalism of those who strive to practice it.

But the truth is that success comes not from the unique individual traits, elevated personal character, or rarefied spiritual or intellectual depth of particular people. It comes from the disciplined and studied attention we pay to the tasks, responsibilities, and practices which we develop and which make up our profession. These are not mysterious rites by which a select few gain entry to a secret priesthood. They are roles and behaviors we all develop to help make possible the management of this remarkable new world dominated by organizations. And virtually any of us has the capacity to discharge them.

So, managers must give up the grandiose self-absorption marketed so assiduously to them, and focus on doing the job. What’s more, in order to do it best, they must understand that they are doing so as an employee for someone else. With that perspective, the mind-clouding angst goes down considerably, and it becomes about the work. In turn, when that has happened, all the management functions – including those of the leadership process within management’s purview – become more clear and doable as well.

That’s management, and that’s the manager. Next, we’ll talk a bit about how the latter does the former. That will begin on Tuesday, after the US holiday of Presidents’ Day on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend; see you in a few days!

—

Today’s tips: The Economist magazine has a blog called Free Exchange which is well worth adding to your reading list or, better, to your RSS reader. Please see this summary of the debate over income inequality vs consumption inequality.

When Michael Wade, of Execupundit, makes one of his lists of observations about life in management, it is worth reading and thinking about. Please see this one called The Mokita Factor.

—

We appreciate your visits here very much, and would love to have you as a regular reader. Please take a moment to subscribe, either by email or via an RSS reader, using the options available just below or at the upper right. And welcome aboard!

—

Technorati Tags: management, professional, ownership, responsibility, performance, manager, owner, CEO, leadership, business, organization, professionalism, discipline, tasks, responsibilities, practices, profession, employee, perspective, US, Economist, income, consumption, inequality, Michael Wade, Peter Drucker