Henry Mintzberg, Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and author of nearly two dozen books on management, first coined the phrase – Management is Leadership Practiced Well – in his groundbreaking book – ‘Managers NOT MBAs – A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development.’ published in 2004. When you get right down to it, whether you hold the title of manager or leader, the common denominator is people. In today’s multigenerational workplace, soft skills are essential.
Worth Remembering – Success depends not on what the managers themselves do, as allocators of resources and makers of decisions, so much as on what they help others do. – Henry Mintzberg.
A manager or leader must excel at communicating, educating and delegating effectively to complete tasks on time and to sustain and grow the organization.
Communicating. If you can’t communicate in a way that others will understand, then whatever you say will mean nothing. Take the time to find out how they prefer to receive information and then send it in a way that suits them. Ken Blanchard said it best – communication is the breakfast of champions.
Educating. Do you hire stupid people, or do they just get stupid after working for you? Your role as a manager or leader is to fill the skills gap. Your role is to teach them what they need to know to deliver results on time and on budget.
Delegating. You need to learn to relinquish control to gain control. It’s bigger than you. You can’t accomplish everything on your own. Teamwork makes the whole thing work. You don’t need more followers – you need to help them to grow and then get out of their way and let them do it. Resist the urge to micromanage them.
Worth Remembering – Drop the idea that you are Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. The world will go on even without you. Don’t take yourself too seriously. – Norman Vincent Peale.
We are not born knowing how to manage and lead others successfully. But we can learn how to communicate in a way that others will understand, teach people what they need to know and delegate when necessary. Management is leadership practiced well.
Copyright 2025. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, contact him directly. Brian works with individuals who want to learn how to communicate and interact with others more effectively, regardless of gender or generation, build collaborative teams, resolve conflicts or motivate people to perform at their best.
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