Sharon Youngblood Business Consulting - Articles for Executives

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P.O. Box 41236
Tucson, AZ 85717
520.795.7498
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"Sharon is that rare individual - extremely intelligent and multi-talented,"
-- Hussein Kamel, PhD, Computer Structural Analysis, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona

"I can say we would not have accomplished our goals without your assistance."
-- Chester Teaford, HDR, Inc.,
formerly, V.P., Michael Baker Jr., Inc.

Articles for Executives

Are Leadership and Management Skills Different?

Yes, they are different but they are not exclusive. That is, at different times in your career you will need more "leadership skills" than "management skills". However - you will need all of the skills required for management and leadership at some point in your career. The better you understand that you are on a career skill set continuum and not in a discrete management or leadership role, the more effective you will be in your career. To their career detriment, most people focus too much on specialty development and not enough on leadership skills.

When you graduate from college and take the first job, no one is interested in your vision! They want you to do a relatively small task and master it. The theory of leadership development in most organizations is to keep mastering specialty complexity, learn to manage a team, learn to manage a project and then manage an office, region or division. Leadership development is random and few professionals or their supervisors, plan that development.

Look at the abbreviated continuum of skills and notice that there is an inverse relationship. That is, early in your career you need to develop 95% specialty proficiency and 5% ability to select change strategies. If you become a leader in your organization that relationship will flip and you will need 95% ability to select change strategies and 5% technical proficiency. If you have not worked at developing leadership skills just as you worked to acquire specialty skills, you sell yourself short as well as those you lead.

Manager Skills Descending Order of Importance	Leader Skills Descending Order of Importance
Specialty Proficiency	Select Strategies For Change
Discern Personal Priorities	Energize People
Personally Execute;	Plan
Plan	Personally Execute
Select Strategies For Change	Specialty Proficiency

You get a chance to lead by mastering skills appropriate to your level. You become a powerful leader by self, experiential, and book knowledge and by having a good mentor. Choose these four carefully and you will not be in the position of moving into leadership unprepared.

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Youngblood Consulting, Inc.
P.O. Box 41236 ∙ Tucson, AZ 85717
say@youngbloodconsulting.com ∙ www.youngbloodconsulting.com

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2009