I’ll attempt to keep this all theoretical and as objective as possible, but it may be hard.
One of the reasons that I started doing my dissertation on the topic of leadership development and training is because of working with so many leaders or people who want to leaders who don’t have the basics in leadership skills. Of course, there’s the argument of is a leader born or made? There’s also a discussion on whether anyone can be a leader or not. Most importantly, there’s a divide between management and leadership. This distinction is often confused and blurred, but there is a distinction.
Not all managers are good leaders. Not all leaders are good managers. One who can do both is a diamond in the rough and rare. Most people assume that if they are good managers (ie can organize schedules, run meetings, make photocopies, etc.), then they are effective leaders. However, I would guess that most who are good leaders do not necessarily care about being a good manager (unless they are the diamond).
Leadership is as the name suggests, about leading. Leading means modeling professional behavior (in a work environment), initiating new ideas grounded in sound theory and pedagogy (in the world of education) and being a person who inspires. Of course, some may argue these characteristics, but let’s just let me have my way for the time being.
So, a leader should be proactive, not reactive nor deactive (which is not a real word in this form, but serves its purpose for now…). However, how often do you see people in managerial/leadership positions who undertake the latter behavioral patterns rather than the former? When people are proactive it creates an environment of activity and positiveness. The others contribute to a negative environment based on fear and subjugation. In our heart of hearts, we all know that we would rather be and work in a proactive environment and yet it is so amazingly rare to find one in reality. WHY?
In any case, you can come to your own conclusions about who or what I am referencing here. However, if you are a leader or want to be one, please take a moment to step back and really asses what kind of environment you are working in and what can you do make it more proactive!
-T 😀
