Eliminate Old Management from the 20th Century
What if the 20th century definition of “Manager” and “Leader” both need to be updated to reflect how the world has forever changed (and is still changing) from command-and-control to self-organizing working groups and individuals?
20th century Manager — “a person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company or similar organization.” (Dictionary.com)
20th century Leader — “the person who commands a group or organization.” (Dictionary.com)
“Command” and “control” are literally in the two definitions above from Dictionary.com. This is 20th century Taylorism thinking that’s been codified (do some light reading on Frederick Winslow Taylor and see if you’d like that kind of thinking controlling you).
Command-and-control in business is an outdated model given the current nearly limitless access to information, resources, and others to hep guide the growth and learning curves of employees without the “boss knows best” mentality.
Now, what if we reimagined those roles for the 21st century?
21st century Manager — a role designed to serve the employees within their span of care by doing only two things: 1) Removing obstacles and impediments keeping individuals and teams from thriving; 2) Skilling up individuals and teams through a growth focus on systems, processes, and communication.
21st century Leader — a person who inspires others towards an improved and desired future state by clearly articulating the vision and mission for the organization or group.
BONUS:
21st century Servant Leader — a person who inspires others towards an improved and desired future state by clearly articulating the vision and mission for the organization or group and championing the change to create favorable conditions for optimization and innovation.
