Leadership with management and how they feed productivity
Are you a great leader or a great manager or a bit of both? If so, does your team always find the most productive way of meeting your clients needs?
Productivity isn’t just the most recent buzz word. It is a state of mind our country really needs to embrace. The Be the Business event in the Houses of Parliament last week brought together business leaders and politicians to explore ways of increasing the UKs comparative productivity. MP Andrew Griffith hosted the parliamentary reception and Tony Danker spoke very eloquently on the opportunity for government to back business productivity and level up the opportunity for every business to improve their performance.
Great opportunity to discuss these issues with leaders like Paula Carter, and Jenny Cridland
Leaders have followers, managers have a team
What strikes me about good leaders is that they are surrounded by people who genuinely value their plans and clearly understand them. What really hits me about great leaders is that people are willing to follow them. Sometimes without clearly understanding their plans. Good leaders manage people and are truly great managers. Great leaders inspire people. They pass on the day to day management of their people to managers who really understand what is needed from the team.
Good managers achieve everything that is asked of them by their leaders. But great managers achieve everything the leader wants before the leader asks them to do it.
Good management skills can be taught and with hard work they can be implemented in any team. Great management skills only happen when a good manager works with a great leader.
A business led by a good leader and a good management team can become one of the most productive teams in its sector by adapting the best management techniques used in or around the sector. The same business could be a class leader in productivity if it is led by a great leader who looks beyond their sector and enables their management team to create world beating systems.
Leaders are Readers (thanks Barry)
The big question many of us find is how do we develop great managers and how do great leaders grow? Some of the answers to these questions came out at a dinner debate for business organised by Joanne Holborn of Baines Wilson and ourselves (Thomas Jardine & Co). We’re not going to go into too much detail here about what was a fascinating night. The dinner was based around a discussion on Cumbria as “the place to work”.
One of the recurring themes was how do we create great managers. The other which was fascinating was how do we as business leaders become the best leaders we can be? The main answer to this was always be prepared to learn and get out and see what is not familiar. As Barry Leahey succinctly put it leaders are readers. Leaders always want to learn more. Great leaders are driven to continuous improvement.
Lets drive great leadership and great managers
Thomas Jardine & Co are really pleased to be working with Be the Business who are driving the productivity challenge forward. We are also immensely proud to be asked to work with the likes of Baines Wilson who believe and directly invest in their place.
The future of leadership and management in Cumbria is looking great. The positive, realistic energy in the room for both the Be the Business Parliamentary Reception and Cumbrian Dinner Debate was palpable. Let’s embrace the national and regional drive to create great leaders and managers . Productivity thrives when a business has great leaders and great managers.
