Communication

Much has been written about the posting addressed below. Earlier books included: "Games People Play" Eric Bernes, "I'm OK, You're OK" by Harris, et al. My personal experiences with the subject material prompted me to write this posting when I sat through a presentation by someone who treated the topic as a new and revolutionary discovery. The related thouht to be considered when you read the narrative below is that communicatio between "right-brain" dominated and "left-brain" dominated is a struggle and special consideration is necessary or succinct communication will not occur.

After facilitating and teaching management/executive training programs for many years during which it was always stressed that leadership skills (right-brain dominated) and management skills (left-brain dominated) are not the same. Some fortunate individuals possess a balance of the two, but most usually excel in one over the other. The spark of leadership is difficult to instill if not already present, but the skills of implementation can be taught. Management skills are the result of training and experience and can be more easily taught. One example we used to illustrate leadership versus management was Adolph Hitler. There is no doubt of his leadership (albeit misguided) as he "led" the populace of Germany to become the belligerent nation we saw in WWII. Had Hitler possessed equal management skills,(or had not tried to manage the war himself and left that task to others with better management skills) quite possibly much of the world would be speaking German.
Many of our presidents (and military officers) are/were dominant one skill or the other. Ronald Reagan is depicted by many to be the epitome of leadership, but weaker in management abilities. Others use Jimmy Carter as an example of a good manager, (smart, meticulous, member of Mensa, etc.) but lacking in leadership traits. Some political pundits tend to contrast the two present day Republican frontrunners in this light.

The identification of prime examples of either leaders or managers is not a precise science, but business executives have long paid a great deal of money toward evaluating and developing both disciplines, not necessarily at the same time or the same place.

Another tough question we tackled in the afore mentioned seminars was the difference (if any) between morals and ethics.(Just for fun consider that morals are learned as a child, usually from parents and remain essentially the same over our lifetime, while ethics are inculcated when we are adults and are subject to "situational" changes over time.) I've written papers on this murky subject. Interesting topic, but difficult to obtain concensus.

Earnest Mercer
Author: "Skivvy Girl: The Love of a Post WWII Japanese Pleasure Girl"