Public Service Articles in the pursuit of
Recreational Boating Safety

Leaders and Leadership
Being the former, doesn't necessarily mean you exhibit the latter
By Wayne Spivak, ADSO-CS 1SR
USCG Auxiliary

It is said that leaders are born and not made. Hogwash! Anyone can be a leader, anyone can be thrust into a leadership position, anyone can earn a leadership role, but exhibiting true leadership which transforms one into a true leader, is another matter, altogether.

Leaders, or leadership, which is it? Sounds like a word game, doesn't it? It is a word game, but not in our society. Words mean a great deal in our culture. Who doesn't remember "Don't give up the ship" echoed by then Captain (Commodore) Oliver Hazard Perry or "Nuts!", as replied General McAuliffe, commanding general of the 101st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge.

We, as a people, have during the last two thousand years seen great cultures fall, based on the words. Words have made civilizations crumble and brought nations to war.

Take heed, for words will become the basis of what is and is not leadership. Leader and leadership. These are two different terms with different level of expectations.

Leadership vs. Management

Every organization has a structure. Structure is created so that the implementation of strategic or tactical goals can be accomplished. Sometimes the depth of the structure is very deep (the Coast Guard is an example), while other times its flat (a small grocery store is a good example).

In any organization there is (or should be) only one leader. However, in a decentralized broad based organizational structure, there are really many leaders. At each level you have a leader.

These leaders all serve the same function: To ensure the goals which are set by management are implemented. However, what we have described is not leadership, but really Management, or the management chain. Managerial skills and Leadership skills are similar, but they are not the same. (maybe we should have changed the title of this piece). Good managers are not necessarily good leaders and visa versa.

In the article What Makes a Good Leader? by Deborah Blagg and Susan Young (Harvard Business School Bulletin, February 2001) Blagg and Young survey some of the top Harvard Business School faculty on their opinion on what a good leader is, and what makes a good leader.

This observation was made:

"When discussing business leadership, the distinction between good management and good leadership is often made. Managers are thought to be the budgeters, the organizers, the controllers…"

Taking a leadership role, whether being promoted into it, or requesting one in a volunteer group, does not mean you are a leader. Leadership takes some fundamental understanding of the elements of leadership vs. the elements of management, which is as much a function of personality as it is learning the elements that make good leadership.

The Key to Leadership

According to Harvard Business School Professor Nitin Nohria "Communication is the real work of leadership". Whether you’re the visionary-charismatic type of leader or the subtle mover of men, without understanding the role of communication, you've failed to understand the fundamental aspect of leadership.

Leadership is made possible by words (either verbal or written) and deeds. Good communicators take complex situations and simplify them for the user group that is being addressed.

Ever listen to a speech by any President? Does he use poly-sylabonic words? Does he use complex and compound sentences? No, he uses simple to understand concepts and examples.

What makes communication of concepts, ideals, visions, management techniques a leadership quality vs. a management quality? Not an easy question to answer, and maybe not really necessary, for both a good manager and a good leader require good communication skills. Publication No. 1 (United States Coast Guard, January 2002, page 49) states: "The most significant action a leader can take in planning and executing an operation is to clearly express the overarching objectives to subordinates."

Can you spot good leadership vs. good management?

Here are some examples of communication. Are they (the leaders) providing good (or bad) leadership or good management? Some are personal experiences, some are more rhetorical. You decide.

1. I worked for a Chief Financial Officer who was located in Houston (I was in New York). He would call me every so often and just talk about non-business related items (the wife, what's new, the weather). The phone call lasted no more that 5 or 10 minutes, but it made me "feel" as part of the team.

2. You belong to a large organization, and with the exception of the Chief Executive, you no idea who the other leaders are, and what functions they perform.

3. I worked for a committee chair, in a volunteer association, that never called, never communicated, never answered e-mail. It was impossible to find out what was happening, what he was doing, where we as a working-group were going.

4. You attend weekly section meetings where your section leader explains what is coming down the pike. The section leader makes you part of the process.

Why do some leaders command the respect and admiration of those they lead? They communicate their ideas, their values and their vision. Why do some managers get high productivity? Because they communicate their ideas, they caring, and explain where you fit into the big picture.

Now re-examine the preceding examples in light of the following quotes:

"...leaders must be able to articulate the central objective of the mission at hand." - USCG Publication No. 1, page 49.

"...positive leadership to ensure clear understanding of the objective and the role each individual, unit, or organization is expected to play in meeting that objective." - USCG Publication No. 1, page 51.

"...Self, Working with Others and Performance...these leadership competencies are keys to success..." Encl.(1) to COMDTINST 5351.1

Does your opinion change? Can you apply one or more of the quotes to the examples and see where managerial skills are at work and where leadership skills are at work, or for that matter not at work?

Is there that much difference between good leadership communication and management communication -- yes and no, and the difference is what leadership is all about. Understanding that leadership goes further than just plain managerial skills, and that communicating, and effective broad vision communication is the underlying factor to leadership.

A litmus test might be:

Management: The end-user receives the message, understands the message and performs the task.

Leadership: Making those who are to be led, want to be led.

Good managers communicate. Good leaders communicate a vision. It is said that leaders are born and not made.

It should be said: Leaders are made, they are not born

Bio:

Mr. Spivak joined the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (Freeport Flotilla 13-11, 1st Southern District) after spending seven years in the United States Power Squadrons. A primary catalyst for his joining was the events of September 11th, and the actions of the Coast Guard, the Auxiliary and the lack of action on the part of the USPS. He is still a member of USPS and also a member of the Canadian Power Squadrons. In addition, he is a consultant with, and the Chief Information Officer for, the United Safe Boating Institute and as well as a member of the National Safe Boating Council.

When not volunteering on Recreational Boating issues, Mr. Spivak is an Adjunct Professor at Lehman College, City University of New York where he teaches accounting. He is also the Chief Financial Officer of DNA Model Management, currently the number 1 modeling agency in New York City. An accomplished freelance writer, Mr. Spivak has over 200 published articles under his belt.