Are You A Leader, Manager Or Facilitator? |
Posted: September 22, 2016 |
We have always been taught in school not to cheat, meaning that we need to do all that we need for success on our own. This instilled a feeling of competition amongst us against our classmates. On the other hand, when we were taken to the ground for play, we were taught to work as a team with the same classmates to succeed against another team. So, from a very early age, we have been taught to differentiate between what needs to be worked in individuality and what needs group effort. Teams are not confined to play alone; in fact they form a very essential part in every organization. Teams are very important for greater employee involvement and bringing up desired outcomes. But, the most important role is of the person who is in charge of the team. As a leader, you need to understand your role and lead your team through the different stages of team development after understanding the individual personalities of your team members. If you are not confident enough that you can do so, it is advisable to take up the best leadership training programs in Bangalore from a reputed organization. Although you are generally known as the leader, but you need to perform two other roles too in the course of your leadership viz. manager and facilitator. You will have to keep juggling between these three roles at different times. But, whatever your role, ultimately your goal will be to help your team achieve the required results. Here, we will help define the roles of a leader, manager and facilitator individually so that you may know which situation requires what kind of role from you. LEADER A leader is always concerned with doing the right thing after concentrating on all the what’s and why’s of the situation. He takes a long-term view of the whole scenario and thinks in terms of innovations and developments that will be fruitful in the future. He sets the tone and direction of the team with a clear vision and hopes that his team will respond and follow his given directions. A leader appeals to the hopes and dreams of the organization and inspires innovation. MANAGER Unlike the leader, a manager focuses only on the ‘how’ and finds a way of doing things the right way. He takes only a short-term view, which is why he is only able to think in terms of the present related to the administration and maintenance. Instead of the entire direction to walk through, a manager only sets the plan and hopes that the team will complete the task. However, he still monitors the boundaries and sets limits for every situation. A manager inspires stability and expects his team members to fulfill their mission effectively. FACILITATOR The role of a facilitator stands completely different from both the leader and manager. A facilitator is for lending a helping hand to the people and is concerned with helping people do things. He helps people find a view to be articulated and helps them concentrate on the immediate reality. He helps people to think and communicate their thoughts; he helps people make meaning of the tone and direction; he helps people make meaning of hopes and dreams; and he helps people to articulate a common mission. A facilitator is one who helps people respond to things and hopes that others will engage in the process.
So, how do you know which role will be the best suited for a given situation? On a general note, if the task involves setting a direction for your group and helping them see a bigger picture, you need to be a leader. If your task involves setting limits and defining deadlines, the role of a manager will work best. But, if your task is more complex and requires assistance by a number of people, then you need to be a facilitator. This means that a team leader can be said to be the best when he has the ability to manage tasks, lead a team and facilitate decisions. To be a great team leader, don’t forget to come to Marg Online, where you can be trained better and more effectively. SUMMARY When you are in charge of a team, you are known by different names like team leader, manager or facilitator. However, the roles of these three titles differ from one another. Understanding this difference is the key to achieve the title of being the best!
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