Читай и обсуждай. Бизнес-курс английского языка. Учебное пособие

Task 3. Explain the meaning of the words and phrases in bold.

Task 4.Answer the questions.

1.What role does manager have in a typical company?

2.What are the key characteristics of a manager?

3.What depicts a great deal about the difference in managers and leaders?

4.What does it mean?

5.Why are good leadership skills difficult to learn?

6.Why are leaders focused on change?

Language Focus

Task 1. Complete the passage using the following words and phrases:

management, leader, vision, ideas, managers, to lead, success, manage, ineffective, skilled

Leadership vs. Management1 by Mark Shead

Management skills are a subset of leadership skills. I’ve often heard people try to separate them by saying that they are leaders, but not 1…. In my experience, the people who say this are generally failures when it comes to attracting followers, which makes it difficult to consider them successful leaders.

A leader is someone who knows where to go. Management skills are how they actually get there. A college student who gets a bunch of friends together to take a weekend trip skiing is acting not only as a leader, but also as a manager. The student must take into account how much gas they have in their car, how much lift tickets are going to cost, invite people who have a reasonable chance of getting along with each other, etc.

1 http://www.leadership501.com/leadership-vs-management/3/

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Someone who is trying to act as a 2…, but wants nothing to do with management, is like a 7 year old who has found the keys to the family car and is overcome with the desire to drive to Disney World. Vision, a goal, and a sense of purpose are all present, but the ability to plan and execute is lacking.

Ionceworkedforsomeonewhowanted3…,butnotmanage.They tried to explain this by saying that they were “a visionary”. I suppose that they meant they came up with the ideas and other people executed them, but a quick trip to the dictionary revealed: visionary – noun. One whose ideas or projects are impractical.

That is a pretty good description of someone who wants to lead, but not 4…. They may have wonderful ideas, but without the ability to plan and oversee the necessary work, their 5… are not going to be realized – at least not by them. If their ideas are implemented, it will be done by another leader who embraces the management function.

While 6… is an important part of leadership, the reverse is not necessarily true. There are many people who are very 7… at implementing someone else’s vision who are not leaders. The fact that these people exist can make some leaders feel justified in abdicating their responsibility to manage.

In its simplest form, management is the process of defining and measuring 8…. The leader who attempts to pass these responsibilities off to a different individual is unlikely to achieve 100 % alignment between their vision and the actual work done by the organization. This doesn’t mean that the organization will necessarily be 9…, but if only 80 % of the work being done is actually aligned with the vision, there is going to be a decrease in productivity overall.

A leader who sets the 10…, defines success, and determines the measurements of success will be more effective than the same leader who wants to set the vision, but refuses to undertake any work in the management area.

Task 2. Translate into Russian.

1.The biggest difference between managers and leaders is the way they motivate the people who work or follow them, and this sets the tone for most other aspects of what they do.

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2.Many people have management jobs, but they realize that you cannot buy hearts, especially to follow them down a difficult path, and so act as leaders too.

3.Managers have a position of authority vested in them by the company, and their subordinates work for them and largely do as they are told.

4. Many organizational leaders do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers.

5. But when they want to lead, they have to give up formal authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.

6.Leaders are always good with people, and quiet styles that give credit to others are very effective at creating the loyalty that great leaders engender.

7.In the same study that showed managers as risk-averse, leaders appeared as risk-seeking, although they are not blind thrill-seekers.

8.Whenpursuingtheirvision,theyconsideritnaturaltoencounter problems and hurdles that must be overcome along the way.

9.They are thus comfortable with risk and will see routes that others avoid as potential opportunities for advantage and will happily break rules in order to get things done.

10. A leader develops his employees by rewarding them with increasing levels of responsibility as they become more competent, but he always remains accountable for the results.

11. Leaders eventually earn the trust of their team by sticking to their word, admitting when they have made a mistake, and being honest in their relationship with others.

12. A leader is always looking for improvement opportunities within every level of his organization.

13. If the leader does not have the authority to act on an improvement opportunity, he seeks out someone who can.

14.The golden rule comes into account here, “treat others as you would expect to be treated”.

15.Where leaders are selfless, managers are often selfish caring only about what is in it for them.

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Task 3. Translate into English.

1. Чем отличаются лидеры от менеджеров?

2. Лидеры вводят перемены. Там, где можно обойтись без перемен, достаточно менеджмента.

3. В эпоху быстрых технологий и перемен статичных областей в бизнесе становится все меньше и меньше.

4. Лидеры не строят планов, они не решают проблем, они даже не организуют людей.

5.Они готовят свои компании к переменам и помогают им справиться со всеми сложностями на пути преобразований.

6.Лидерство и менеджмент — это две разные, но взаимодополняющие системы действия.

7.У каждой из них есть свои функции и характерные проявления.

8.В большинстве компаний сегодня слишком много менеджмента и явно не хватает лидерства.

9.Менеджмент — это умение справляться со сложностями.

10.Лидерство связано с переменами. А чем больше перемен, тем выше потребность в лидере.

11. Для управления проблемами и управления переменами требуются разные системы действий.

12. Решение проблем компании начинают с планирования и составления бюджета.

13. Менеджеры ставят цели на месяц или ближайший год, разрабатывают последовательность шагов для достижения этих целей, а затем выделяют ресурсы для выполнения планов.

14. Перемены в компании осуществляются совсем по-другому.

15.Все начинается с выработки направления: первым делом формируется видение будущего и разрабатываются стратегии осуществления изменений.

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Skills Focus

Task 1. Read the following statements about Management and Leadership. Do you agree? Why? Why not? Give you reasons.

Task2.Thechartbelowindicateskeywordsthatfurthermakethe distinction between the two functions. Speak about yourfunctions in the company.

The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original The manager maintains; the leader develops.

The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.

The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.

The manager imitates; the leader originates.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

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Task 3. Study the following glossary.

to be a good teacher and communicator to manage time and use it effectively to have technical competence

to provide vision

to visible and approachable to be introspective

to be dependable to be open-minded

to have a sense of humour to be out with people

to talk to lower-level employees to get feedback on problem areas to deal with new issues

to take a disciplined approach

to schedules, posts, telephone calls meetings to run efficient organizations

to set goals

to provide strategic perception to pass on skills

to share insights to provide stability reliability

to be flexible

to keep up with changes

to look at oneself objectively

to analyse where you have made mistakes

to focus is on managing a team of people and their activities to ensure work gets done

to focus on day to day tasks to focus on tactical activities

to organize people to accomplish tasks to be more strategically focused

to inspire and motivate employees to focused on change

to lead their teams through change

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Task 4. Using active vocabulary tell about you leadership and managerial skills.

Reading 2

Task 1. Read and translate the article

10 Common Leadership and Management MistakesAvoiding

Universal Pitfalls1

Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. Oscar Wilde

It’s often said that mistakes provide great learning opportunities. However, it’s much better not to make mistakes in the first place! In this article, we’re looking at 10 of the most common leadership and management errors, and highlighting what you can do to avoid them. If you can learn about these here, rather than through experience, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble!

1. Not Providing Feedback

Sarah is a talented sales representative, but she has a habit of answering the phone in an unprofessional manner. Her boss is aware of this, but he’s waiting for her performance review to tell her where she’s going wrong. Unfortunately, until she’s been alerted to the problem, she’ll continue putting off potential customers. According to 1,400 executives polled by The Ken Blanchard Companies, failing to provide feedback is the most common mistake that leaders make. When you don’t provide prompt feedback to your people, you’re depriving them of the opportunity to improve their performance.

2. Not Making Time for Your Team

When you’re a manager or leader, it’s easy to get so wrapped up in your own workload that you don’t make yourself available to your team.Yes, you have projects that you need to deliver. But your people

1 https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/leadership-mistakes.htm

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must come first — without you being available when they need you, your people won’t know what to do, and they won’t have the support andguidancethattheyneedtomeettheirobjectives.Avoidthismistake by blocking out time in your schedule specifically for your people, and by learning how to listen actively to your team. Develop your emotional intelligence so that you can be more aware of your team and their needs, and have a regular time when “your door is always open”, so that your people know when they can get your help. You can also use Management By Walking Around, which is an effective way to stay in touch with your team.Once you’re in a leadership or management role, your team should always come first — this is, at heart, what good leadership is all about!

3. Being Too “Hands-Off”

One of your team has just completed an important project. The problem is that he misunderstood the project’s specification, and you didn’t stay in touch with him as he was working on it. Now, he’s completedtheprojectinthewrongway,andyou’refacedwithexplaining this to an angry client. Many leaders want to avoid micromanagement. But going to the opposite extreme (with a hand-offs management style) isn’t a good idea either — you need to get the balance right.

4. Being Too Friendly

Mostofuswanttobeseenasfriendlyandapproachabletopeoplein our team.After all, people are happier working for a manager that they get on with. However, you’ll sometimes have to make tough decisions regarding people in your team, and some people will be tempted to take advantage of your relationship if you’re too friendly with them. This doesn’t mean that you can’t socialize with your people. But, you do need to get the balance right between being a friend and being the boss. Make sure that you set clear boundaries, so that team members aren’t tempted to take advantage of you.

5. Failing to Define Goals

When your people don’t have clear goals, they muddle through their day. They can’t be productive if they have no idea what they’re working for, or what their work means. They also can’t prioritize their

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workload effectively, meaning that projects and tasks get completed in the wrong order. Use a Team Charter to specify where your team is going, and detail the resources it can draw upon. Also, use principles from Management by Objectives to align your team’s goals to the mission of the organization.

6. Misunderstanding Motivation

Do you know what truly motivates your team? Here’s a hint: chances are, it’s not just money! Many leaders make the mistake of assuming that their team is only working for monetary reward. However, it’s unlikely that this will be the only thing that motivates them. For example, people seeking a greater work/life balance might be motivated by telecommuting days or flexible working. Others will be motivated by factors such as achievement, extra responsibility, praise, or a sense of camaraderie.

7. Hurrying Recruitment

When your team has a large workload, it’s important to have enough people “on board” to cope with it. But filling a vacant role too quickly can be a disastrous mistake. Hurrying recruitment can lead to recruiting the wrong people for your team: people who are uncooperative, ineffective or unproductive. They might also require additional training, and slow down others on your team. With the wrongperson,you’llhavewastedvaluabletimeandresourcesifthings don’t work out and they leave.What’s worse, other team members will be stressed and frustrated by having to “carry” the under-performer.

8. Not “Walking the Walk”

If you make personal telephone calls during work time, or speak negatively about your CEO, can you expect people on your team not to do this too? Probably not! As a leader, you need to be a role model for your team. This means that if they need to stay late, you should also stay late to help them. Or, if your organization has a rule that no one eats at their desk, then set the example and head to the break room every day for lunch.The same goes for your attitude — if you’re negative some of the time, you can’t expect your people not to be

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negative. So remember, your team is watching you all the time. If you want to shape their behavior, start with your own. They’ll follow suit.

9. Not Delegating

Some managers don’t delegate, because they feel that no-one apart from themselves can do key jobs properly. This can cause huge problems as work bottlenecks around them, and as they become stressed and burned out. Delegation does take a lot of effort up-front, and it can be hard to trust your team to do the work correctly. But unless you delegate tasks, you’re never going to have time to focus on the “broader-view” that most leaders and managers are responsible for. What’s more, you’ll fail to develop your people so that they can take the pressure off you.

10. Misunderstanding Your Role

Once you become a leader or manager, your responsibilities are very different from those you had before. However, it’s easy to forget that your job has changed, and that you now have to use a different set of skills to be effective. This leads to you not doing what you’ve been hired to do — leading and managing. Make sure that you learn these new skills — you’ll fail if you try to rely on technical skills alone, however good they are!

Key Points

We all make mistakes, and there are some mistakes that leaders and managers make in particular. These include not giving good feedback, being too “hands-off”, not delegating effectively, and misunderstanding your role. It’s true that making a mistake can be a learning opportunity. But, taking the time to learn how to recognize and avoid common mistakes can help you become productive and successful, and highly respected by your team.

Task 2.Answer the following question.

Do you agree with the list of the mentioned mistakes? What are the most crucial among them and what are the mistakes you think which have less importance?

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