In this first lesson, we're going to articulate a definition of leadership. All executives were great managers. At one point in their careers, great managers got promoted because they were highly competent themselves and they were good at using the resources they had at their disposal to get work done. However, great financial executives still get the work done, but they spend much of their time building competency in their own teams connecting finance with the rest of the organization, and ultimately building the capacity of the organization to do more. Let's spend a few minutes comparing and contrasting these differences between being a manager and a leader. Now, Casey Stengel, a Hall of Fame baseball manager once said the key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate you away from those who are still undecided.
While that might be a little bit humorous, he also though said that finding good players is easy. Getting to the play as a team is an entirely different story. These close to pick the challenges managers, managers need to find ways to win every day using the talent that they've been given. They work around obstacles and they find ways to deliver. Now leaders on the other hand, think about ways to get alignment with all the players. Stephen Covey, a low time management guru described management as the efficiency in climbing the ladder of success.
On the other hand, leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall. So leaders begin by asking questions of why, whereas managers has questions of what and how. Covey also said that effective leadership is putting First things first, whereas effective management is the discipline in carrying it out. So leaders think about the ordering of things they prioritize. They continually assess the most valuable use of resources. Measures don't typically have that degree of latitude.
Instead they focus on it execution. Now Jen and I spent a lot of time as we're building this course thinking about our own perspectives of leadership. I think when you become a leader, you aren't afraid to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. And it can be threatening to hire someone who may be more competent than you in accounting or finance. But as a leader, you realize that's exactly the right thing to do, because that's what makes the organization stronger. becoming a leader happens when you begin to let go of that technical and analytical detail of your work and allow someone else to perform that work.
A leaders focus shifts from doing the work themselves to hiring and developing highly competent people to do the work on their behalf. And it's a difficult shift in mindset for many new executives who are previously say the controller and very comfortable with preparing financial reports and suddenly find themselves accountable for so much more. Leaders are also different in how they accept the obligation of leadership. Leaders instead think of themselves as accountable, whereas managers think of themselves as responsible. There's a big difference between being accountable for something and being responsible for the buck stops with someone who is accountable. You put your job on the line every day when you're accountable for the results.
Being responsible only on their hand is a lesser standard. It implies an obligation and an attentive dis, but it puts a ring fence around it, you're only responsible for A, B, and C. And if something else comes along, say D. Well, that's not your problem because you weren't responsible for it. Let's adopt a working definition of leadership and what is leadership? Well, Julian Burling of Queens University summarizes it as to take people to places they would not have gone by themselves and get them to do things they otherwise would not have done. Because one they want to do it. And two, they understand why this definition takes us a step.
Because it recognizes that leadership's tap into the imagination, the spirit of those who lead and create this X Factor effect. And the lessons that follow we're going to learn more about how your executive presence is created when you're able to demonstrate credible leadership.