One of the most misunderstood areas of study and of the workplace is that of management in my opinion. How many people actually like their boss? Probably not the majority of us; however there may be reasons both valid and invalid for our feelings on that person and the job they do. I have been working in management now for about 5 years in my current position and I find that as I continue to grow in this field and study about various aspects of management in my MBA program I am starting to see a forest that I never knew existed because of the one tree I kept focusing upon for all of these years. I am learning that management is more than just a skill set, it is a mindset.
Management is not the same as leadership. There have been excellent leaders who were terrible managers (George Bush Jr.) and excellent managers who would be terrible leaders (*** Cheney). Leadership has been defined as that untouchable quality by which a person achieves an objective through the actions of others. Actually I think that is a better definition for management. Leadership is a quality that inspires others to action on behalf of your vision. Management on the other hand focuses on how you will achieve an objective and lays out the plan to do so. I could go on and on about the differences between the two, perhaps I will someday but for now I'm trying not to digress too much.
In my MBA program I am starting to view my current role within my organization differently, perhaps more realistically and I am starting to see where holes in my managerial skill set and mindset have cost me and caused me unnecessary stress. On the flip side I am learning about things that I had never previously considered that are causing me some new anxieties. The important thing is that I am growing, both as a leader and a manager and I believe that my education has contributed significantly in this. If you think about it, that's what an education is all about, growing. A degree is merely a credential, a piece of paper, which without the personal growth that comes with it would not be nearly as valuable.