• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: AGMA Industry News
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Blogs » Gear Talk With Chuck » Management vs. Leadership

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

The Gear Industry / Management / Supply Chain
Charles schultz
Chuck Schultz is a licensed engineer, Gear Technology Technical Editor, and Chief Engineer for Beyta Gear Service. He has written the "Gear Talk with Chuck" blog for Gear Technology since 2014.

Management vs. Leadership

July 31, 2014
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
[starbox] Recent posts about the management training “movement” of the late 20th century got me thinking about why those efforts — no matter how well thought out or executed — seemed to fall short of expectations. I experienced the phenomenon at three very different companies, with at least three different programs, and the results were all short-term improvements with no long-lasting changes to the culture or profitability. In my view the failures were not for lack of effort, top management buy-in, or professional presentation. Employees and staff attended the meetings, read the books, and participated in the exercises. Company presidents, general managers, supervisors and supervised said the right things and supported the programs. Shocking amounts of money were spent on course materials, text books, and employee compensation. And yet, things didn’t change. I have also worked at companies that did change and those changes were the result of changes in leadership. Not all those changes were for the better, but they confirm something I have come to firmly believe: You manage things — but you lead people. Our educational system directs lots of students into supply chain management, business administration, and other programs that promise to help them run growing and profitable businesses. Precious little time is devoted to teaching people to lead once you transition out of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. We agonize over how to measure the “intangibles” that affect a business, because our best laid plans often come up short. The common denominator in all these failures is people. You can have great equipment, top-of-the-line tools, adequate supervision and a great design, yet produce nothing but flops. An underfunded competitor with obsolete equipment but charismatic leadership can pull off some amazing projects simply because that leadership is able to extract the utmost performance when needed. If I knew how to develop high-quality leaders, I probably wouldn’t have time to write these blog posts. Future posts will speculate on what makes a good leader.

Recent Comments

Thank you for this - Happy Saint Patrick's...

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • Wfl1
    WFL Operational Data Acquisition System
March 14, 2019
RECOMMENDED
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • State of the Powder Metal Industry

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_30_Image_0001.jpg
  • The Afterglow of Furnaces North America 2022

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact