Why Management Skills are Not Enough?

It is quite unfortunate that in many organizations today, managers tend to believe that just because they have the necessary management skills required to get the job done, they would be able to gain the respect and support not just of the employees directly under them, but also members of senior management. The reality is that, while management skills are essential for managers in business organizations, this is simply just not enough.

That is because in order to become a successful manager, you would need to also be recognized by your subordinates and members of senior management as a leader as well. Leadership and management are two completely separate concepts. Management refers to skills and knowledge that would help you to be able to successfully handle certain procedures and systems that are used in the workplace. In effect, management merely focuses on an individual’s ability to make it a point that business activities and transactions are done within a specific period of time without compromising on the quality of the task performed. In order for this to happen, you would need to be able to effectively deal with people who are positioned below you and above you. That is where leadership comes in.

Leadership has been defined to be a set of skills that would allow an individual placed in a certain position within an organization to get people positioned below them to get the tasks accomplished based on the requirements that they have been given far above and beyond the standards. At the same time, a person is also considered to be a leader when he or she is able to gain the support of members of senior management to whom he or she directly reports to.

Contrary to the popular belief, leaders are not born. They are made. To be an effective leader and manager requires years of learning not just basic knowledge that are taught in the classroom. They need to also be able to acquire certain skills in being able to gain the trust and respect of both the people below them and the people above them. This is achieved through years of experience as well as through various seminars hosted by many leadership training facilities all over the world.

It is mainly for this reason that many managers invest hundreds and even thousands of dollars on books, DVDs and seminar trainings dealing on the subject of leadership. By being able to combine leadership skills with the management skills that you currently possess, you will be able to successfully help your business or organization achieve its goals in your own little way.

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