A Michael Moment
a moment of insight from executive coach Michael Wolkensperg
The Sweet Spot of Corporate Success
I often hear the mantra that managers “do things right” and leaders “do the right thing”. Doesn’t it make more sense that most executives, be they managers or leaders, or both, depend on doing the right thing and on doing it right? If not, then what does a leader do so differently? In other words, what distinguishes a leader from a manager?
As managers develop the insight to know with more certainty what the right thing to do is, they begin to emerge as leaders for one reason: They begin to understand the sweet spot of success in the corporate world.
The sweet spot of corporate success is where strategic, operational, and political overlap.
In other words, success is when the decision is right when examined from all three perspectives: Strategic – is clearly aligned on the strategy map, Operational – faultlessly executed, and Political – recognizes the political forces at play and individual self interests.
I am sure you can see that getting only one right can be devastating under certain circumstances and getting only two right can cause some distress, but getting all three right: That's the leader's sweet spot.
MM 106 01-09
