November 2006
by Randal Godden, Chairman and CEO, at TEC South Africa
This article was first published in Real Business, a supplement to
Business Day which appears on the third Monday of every month.
One of the topics presented by leadership specialist and one of our
most recent key note speakers, Paul Bridle, was the challenge for business
executives to spend an appropriate amount of time on leadership.
As business leaders we are always confronted by the challenge of
splitting our energies between three broad areas: functional, management
and leadership activities. The functional activities are essential
elements within every business and include specialist roles such as
accountants, lawyers, engineers, sales representatives and IT specialists,
to name a few.
While most business executives and entrepreneurs originally specialised
in one of those disciplines, a significant challenge is to strike the
correct balance between using your specialist skill as a strength and
allocating sufficient time and effort to the management and leadership
roles.
The management role ensures the necessary policies, systems and structures
are put in place to ensure that the business delivers on its promise
to customer and stakeholders. It is about measuring and monitoring
outcomes against those policies, systems and structures, and taking
appropriate action where actual results vary from the required standard.
For example, if there is a shortfall, how do we “course correct” or,
if there is an improvement, how do we entrench the enhanced performance
as our new standard? But, management is fundamentally about ensuring
that our current activities are in line with our agreed purpose and
satisfies the current needs of customer and stakeholders.
The leadership role, on the other hand, is about the future, and
is concerned with the strategy for the business, building relationships
and developing alliances and partnerships with stakeholders, not just
customers. While customers are vital, leaders must also consider the
alliance possibilities with other stakeholders, including employees,
suppliers, financiers, shareholders, business associates and the community.
The first challenge for most of us as managers and leaders is to
determine the appropriate split between the three roles. The second,
and usually greater challenge, is determining how to ensure that our
actual time and effort allocation is consistent with role requirements. Too
often we spend the bulk of out time on functional activities and perhaps
management, with leadership receiving scant attention and only if there
is time. And, if time does become available, it is not planned or focused
and thus less effective.
To ensure the appropriate focus, plan your activities starting with
leadership priorities, then management issues. Leave functional activities
until last. This will require true delegation of functional responsibilities
according to appropriate skill levels in these functional areas and
will also preclude a compression of duties.
Managers and leaders need to undertake this process to effectively
perform their role. In larger organisations where a manager or leader
finds limitations in one or more areas, they should find an appropriate
role for the person, assuming they are contributors. Bill Gates, for
example, is a classical role model. Recognising that he was not the
best CEO, he stepped aside to enhance the business’ success.
In owner operator businesses it is more challenging if the entrepreneurial
element is at odds with the management and/or leadership elements.
Owner operators can endeavor to change, but usually with limited success.
The alternative is to bring in people to complement their weaker areas,
either as employees, managers or partners, or perhaps find external
assistance, particularly in terms of leadership focus and guidance.
For any organisation to be successful over time it is essential that
the leaders achieve an appropriate balance between functional, management
and leadership roles and responsibilities.
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