Business Leadership

One of the first things that needs to be cleared up is the difference between Management and Leadership. A good manager is not necessarily a good leader. A leader is an innovator and leads the organisation into uncharted waters. There should be a plan and the risks should be well-defined, but a leader has vision and inspiration and motivates others to follow. A leader will also have responsibilities for management and day-to-day operations, but is always looking ahead and is concerned with vision and strategy.

“EveryMan Consulting brought a calm air of professionalism to everything they did.” John Oak, Managing Director, Woodmace Ltd  www.woodmace.co.uk

The heart of Leadership is all about identifying, starting and implementing change.    

A manager is primarily responsible for making the existing organisation work as well as possible. Although a manager attends strategy meetings, he is there to provide practical advice on the one hand, and be advised of potential changes that could affect the nature and efficiency of his operation. He also assists in business planning.

The heart of Management is making things work as well and efficiently as possible.

However, just to confuse the issue, leaders can be drawn from managers, and some leaders are also managers. Some attributes of leadership and management overlap in many areas. This is where Mentoring and Executive Coaching can help, by identifying management and leadership requirements and developing individuals and organisations.

How Mentoring and Coaching Develop Business Leadership

Mentoring and coaching can be the most significant weapons in a leader’s armoury. In terms of developing an individual leader or the overall leadership team in an organisation, an effective mentor or coach should:

• Assist leaders in helping to focus strictly on business aims, objectives and targets and how to achieve them,    
• Assist leaders to analyse processes and systems and provide advice or recommendations for improvements 
• Work closely with leaders to implement and manage change and ensure that they produce measurable improvements 

How Mentoring and Coaching Develop Business Management

The relationship between a business mentor and/or coach and the individual manager or management team should operate as a partnership. At the operational level (Sales, Personnel, Manufacturing, Logistics, etc...) the goals are all about improvement within existing systems and processes.

An effective Business Mentor or Coach will always seek to strengthen the management capability of individuals and teams. This will include professional relationship improvement, and better problem-solving and decision-making skills. Effective communications at this level, both internally and externally to the organisation, are essential and should be the focus of a major effort.

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