Organisation structures have changed in the last few decades and I believe this has had a detrimental effect on the way organisations are managed and lead.

A few decades ago organisations had many levels of management in their structures and people progressed through the ranks in incremental steps of authority learning management skills along the way.  People learned to be managers by attending training courses and by observing and copying the behaviour of other managers in the structure.  A percentage of these other managers would be displaying the behaviours and attitudes of leadership and so leadership could be observed and learnt.

Can people learn to be a leader?  I believe this depends on the individual because not everyone wants to lead, but for those who do want to lead there are some behaviours they can learn and foster in themselves.

My observation of the difference between leadership and management is that while some of the activities and skills are the same, managers rely on their authority to get things done whereas leaders attract followers who chose to be involved in achieving the leader’s vision.

Leaders develop a vision of the future state and communicate this vision with the passion of their belief and their determination to achieve the vision.   If a leaders vision is believable to others and if the leader lives the vision and demonstrates behaviours that are aligned with their vision, then others will begin to share that vision.  Those who come to share the vision willingly undertake the tasks required to move the organisation in the direction of the vision.  Leaders use their communication and management skills to support and encourage their followers’ efforts.

This application of a combination of leadership behaviours and management skills creates what I think of as “pull”, a state where leaders pull followers into the direction that they are moving, towards the goals that will lead to the achievement of their vision.

Most managers know how to plan and organise people but what are these leadership behaviours that create “pull”? 

Firstly the leader must have a direction and be able to verbalise that direction fluently and with belief and passion.  Above all the leader must demonstrate behaviours that make them worthy of their followers, integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity, confidence, optimism, wisdom, determination, compassion, and sensitivity. 

Becoming a leader is more difficult for many of us than being a manager, but for those who make the effort and achieve leadership the rewards are great.  For those who want a demonstration of the difference between “push” and “pull”,   take a piece of rope about two meters long and hold one end with the other end on the floor.  Try to push the rope in any direction it will not easily move to where you want it to go; if you “pull” the rope it will follow you anywhere.