Here is an excerpt from an article written by Brady Mick for Talent Management magazine in which he states the obvious: There are significant differences between a manager and a leader. “Group behaviors fused within an organization’s culture can be a powerful tool for business.” To read the complete article, check out all the resources, and sign up for a free subscription to the TM and/or Chief Learning Officer magazines published by MedfiaTec, please click here.

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Creating an ideal work environment requires talent leaders to consider many questions. The most critical among them: Why do many talented employees fail to get along with their bosses? What is the difference between leaders and managers? How does work get done? What are the best work optimization strategies? How can an office’s layout influence the relationships between employees and bosses?

The answers to these questions come from understanding social dynamics and behaviors in the workplace.

Social dynamics are group behaviors based on individual interactions. Often, these interactions are dependent on companies’ culture and individuals’ psychology. In addition to the workplace — where workers will spend about half of their waking hours each week — social dynamics also come to light during time spent with family and friends.

In the workplace, culture refers to workers’ ideals, values and the unwritten rules that govern accepted behaviors. Individual psychology refers to employees’ expectations, cognitive wiring, and memories and experiences that ultimately form beliefs.
The health of an organization and the results it creates are largely based on the nature of its social dynamics, and building social dynamics plays a major role in the company’s success. While work results can be achieved without positive social dynamics, true engagement and next-level success cannot be realized without positive cultural behaviors.

Who’s in Charge?

Vital to establishing social dynamics that work are the people in charge — the individuals accountable for producing results. Unfortunately, management theory and practice have taught people to operate in roles that consist of directing the show, telling employees what to do and when, and focusing on day-to-day activities and problems. In sum, the manager tells workers to do something and how.

On the other hand, the person in charge must also function as a leader. This context consists of an entirely different spectrum of techniques. Unlike managers, leaders provide vision and goals, not instructions or directions. Like great athletes, leaders identify how to make those around them perform at their best. While a manager may say “do it, and here’s how,” leaders say “use your skills and abilities to find the positive way forward.”

The evolution from manager to leader takes place over time. A manager cannot simply walk into the office tomorrow, announce a vision and guide employees how to get there. This is especially true if their mode of work has been one of giving instructions and directives. Going from manager to leader is an evolution that occurs in stages, moving from the unsatisfying and incomplete mode of “tell” or “do as told,” to the socially dynamic model of employees discovering ways to achieve their own work results.

Each individual has strengths and weaknesses. In his book Winning, former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch described his weakness for HR. Because of his personal weakness, Welch elevated the position of HR on his leadership team. He considered it equal to the CFO to ensure that HR had a voice at the highest level.

Everyone has shortcomings, and individuals capable of self-reflection will realize their own and surround themselves with people to fill in the gaps and strengthen those weaknesses. In this style of leadership, the team — not any one person — is most important.

Perfect managers or leaders are also likely to have an unbalanced skill set, one that will leave them on a less-successful path. What’s needed is a combination of skills. While a perfect leader may be able to rally a sales team to run through a brick wall to generate new prospects, if his or her management skills are lacking, the team members may trip over their own feet, chasing down each other’s leads and not working as a team.

Likewise, a skilled manager may have a firm grasp on lead generation and sales goals, but be less able to motivate the team to engage their competitive psychology.

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Here is a direct link to the complete article.

Brady Mick is a client leader, workplace strategist, and architect at BHDP Architecture.