Vincent R Orlando

As I wrote just a couple of days ago in my initial offering on the subject of “Leadership,” there are people who proclaim themselves as leaders without understanding the many roles or characteristics that encompass such a declaration.  Titles like President, Board Chair, or Director of (fill in the blank) have little insight on whether a person has leadership qualities.  In other words, a title does not make a leader.

Do you equate leadership and management?  Corporate America taught me the vast distinction.  A leader communicates the direction they want to take – the decision is made.  A manager takes that direction and determines the best way to achieve the desired results.  Lee Iacocca (former Chairman & CEO of Chrysler) put this difference in a very amusing way:  “Sometimes even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so that he can take him there.”  For all intensive purposes, a manager can follow a map.  A leader knows where the map is going to take you.

In “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael E. Gerber, the first chapter is entitled: “The Entrepreneur Myth.”  The myth is that someone who knows the technical side of an art or craft also knows the technical side to running the business.  The baker knows how to bake, the hair dresser knows how to cut hair, the graphic artist knows how to create logos – but do they know how to create an income stream from their passion?  A start-up business goes under way too often because they either don’t have sufficient capital to sustain them until the business becomes successful, or they have a great product or service but don’t know how to run a business.

Intelligence does not make a leader.  I know many people that possess high IQs but have trouble interacting with people.  People that are book smart and street dumb.  Think-tanks, universities, research center, etc. are full of geniuses.  Aptitude does not necessarily relate to the quality of leadership.

Another person that I admire is Colin Powell.  He, along with General Norman Schwarzkopf, led U.S. forces for Operation Desert Shield to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraq.  When speaking on the topic of “Leadership,” Mr. Powell stated:  “You have achieved excellence as a leader when people will follow you everywhere if only out of curiosity.”

“It’s not the position that makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position” (Stanley Huffy).  To move people in a new direction, you need influence.  You may be able to charm people while they are in your presence but there is no long-term affect once they have an opportunity to give your concept ample consideration. In as simplest of terms as I can think of, “Leadership is Influence” or the ability to get people to participate in your cause.

Be Blessed!

I worked in Corporate America for over 20-years.  For about four of those 20+ years, I had one manager that had a positive influence over my life.  His name is Lance Garrett.  Lance was a manager amoung managers.  Everyone in the Voice Networking department loved working for him because:  He treated us with respect;  Made sure we received  whatever we needed to excel in our jobs and;  He encouraged us to play as hard as we worked – joining our festivities  after-hours.  In return, we always tried to do the best job for Lance no matter what it took:  Working overtime;  Talking technicians through difficult trouble-shooting techniques or;  Representing our team at management meetings.  Lance had a profound influence over my life because he was the type of manager that I inspired to be.

On the other side of the coin, when I was a child in the 1960′s, I heard my parents talking about me while they were in bed.  They knew it was late and they saw me sleeping when they walked through my room on there way to their room.  I heard my father tell my mother:  Don’t force him to go to school if he doesn’t want to go.  My mother’s response was that I needed a good education because I needed to get an office job.  It was not like I was in any condition to work a manual labor job.  My father’s response was that I would learn in school what I needed, when I needed it.  He thought that my mother should be teaching me how to be independent.  Teach me to cook, clean a home, sew.  I needed to learn these things more because I would probably never have a woman who would take care of me.  This conversation had a major impact on my life because I never sustained a long term relationship.  Although I am generally a very confident person, I am still very awkward in female relationships.

To merge my last two entries with this one, words and actions can have a very powerful effect on people.  Lance always had words of encouragement for his people and treated us like professionals.  My parents (unintentionally) planted the seed in my subconcious that I would never have a lasting relationship.  So, the question(s) for today are:   Who or what has influence over your life in a positive or negative way?  Why?  How can you be a positive influence over someone else’s life?  Choose wisely mentors, the TV &/or movies that you watch, the people that you play with, the stars that you emulate because they really can have a big influence on your life.

Be Blessed!