A Coaching Perspective on Management Skills vs. Leadership Skills: Whats Really Important?
From a coaching perspective, both management skills and leadership skills rest upon human character. Leading and managing are performed by real human beings, and my own perspective is that some of the most important character traits underpinning good management and good leadership are exactly those described on the Executive Coaching front page: • Listening to and understanding the self and others, • Accepting and valuing what is, and • Being honest and transparent to self and others These character traits suggest certain attitudes and behavioural tendencies which I believe increase the effectiveness of other management skills and leadership skills significantly: • Expressing one’s own reactions and motivations openly and honestly and listening to others when they do the same • Expressing feedback to others sensitively and empathically and listening to feedback offered by others • Relying on one’s own judgement and resources and respecting others when they do the same • Accepting the c
