Leadership: Weasel Is As Weasel Does

Great Monday Morning Memo from my partner, Roy, this morning.

In Boldness Buys the Priceless, he takes his typically twisted but true look at leadership versus management:

Management requires wisdom, patience and strength. Basically, it’s parenting, bringing forward the best of the past, enforcing the status quo.

Leadership requires independence, audacity and courage. It’s inherently defiant, questioning the past, challenging the status quo. And then there are those perky Chihuahuas barking “Leadership! Leadership! Put me in charge! I’ll tell everyone what to do! I’m a trained leader, I’ve been to a seminar!”

No, you’re just a weasel who wishes he were the furry-hatted drum major of a marching band. (Yes, I have a prejudice against self-styled leaders. Does it show?)

Truth is, ask pretty much anyone who’s been with an organization for any length of time about their leaders and managers, and you’ll usually get a pretty clear assessment of The Who’s Who.

Sometimes, sure, you can fool up, but typically, you can’t fool down an org chart. Someone, his name was Jake, once said to me:

“Leaders praise publicly and coach privately. Managers, for some unknown reason, tend to do it the other way around.”

Hmm. Okay.

There are most certainly public criticism snot-nosed goober managers. I used to know and work for one who seemed to get off on loudly braying his own excellence over anyone inside his effective radius. Someone made a sale. He could have gotten more. Someone got three new prospects. He could have gotten four. Someone made nice chocolate chip cookies. His have chocolate chips and M & M’s.

Weasel.

And I will say, too, that managers often get caught up in phony-posing-way-too-over-the-top little rah-rah sessions completely devoid of authenticity, and they’re usually held only when somebody makes a sale.

Leaders have the boldness and courage to accept responsibility. Roy will tell you that’s how you make the big bucks, by the way: not by doing lots and lots of work, but by willing to take the actions necessary to accept greater amounts of responsibility upon your shoulders strong.

He also says in this week’s memo:

Maybe boldness is genetic.
Maybe it’s a product of environment.
But I think it’s just a choice.

It’s a new week. Welcome to it. In the next five days, you’ll be faced with countless chances and countless choices.

Eyes wide open. Ears, too. Back straight. Shoulders strong. Go.

What do you think? Do you agree with Roy? Or Jake? What’s the difference between leadership and management? Have you ever seen one or the other clearly manifest itself in your organization? How did you know you were in the presence of one or the other?