Chris Igoe - ERAU Leadership Blog

Leading when not in charge is a unique position, and it is not just for subordinate associates in relation to their formal leader. Leaders also encounter opportunities when they hold a title but lack the authority or knowledge to support it. Everyone can lead through influence regardless of their title in an organization (Harvard Management Update, 2009). What is important is that we do not confuse authority and leadership as the same thing or requiring the same skills. As a new leader at Amazon and in logistics operations, I am a leader by title first, with people skills second, and technical acumen in a distant third place. Last night, I had the opportunity to converse with a leader two levels below me, the front-line manager for her area. She was concerned about my actions and explained how things had always been done. She asked me to demonstrate my understanding of certain things, explain what I was trying to accomplish, and where I was steering things as “The” Operations Manager. ...

I have been working in leadership roles for nearly three decades now, and my view of leadership has evolved from that of an impetuous teenager who saw his leaders as out-of-touch old men and women who couldn’t do what I did, to being an older man who can no longer do what my people do. Besides the literal shift in position, my perspective has also changed. I have realized that leaders cannot be as technically skilled as their workers in all things. That's okay, that's good, and that's normal. Leadership and management require different skills, often more abstract skills, such as strategic planning, problem-solving, communication, emotional intelligence, and influence, among others (Northouse, 2022). The distinction in skills and the misunderstanding of what leaders do can create dissonance in teams and lead to a shift in the perspective of leadership among followers. For example, my parents always taught my brothers and me to respect people in positions of authority. Teache...