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I was reading a book recently regarding the difference between leading and managing. For a long time, I had assumed that they were essentially the same. I've come to find out that they're vastly different in terms of how leaders and managers spend their day. A good leader is very involved. He or she doesn't always worry about paperwork or busy work, but is more concerned with relationships and knowledge. A leader cares more about respect than anything else. An effective leader should be able to walk through the room, small talk with everyone in the office and be able to get more work done in that one walk-through than a manager gets done all day. For a leader, networking is the real work. He or she must have good relationships with employees, customers and vendors. The manager may handle the day-to-day workings of the office, but it's the leader who handles the big picture of the business.
This past October at NetworkASA I had a chance to visit Washington, D.C. There was no better place in which to find an example of a great leader. In D.C, we were all given the opportunity to meet with some of the congressional aides from our districts. However, one of the aides that I met with was having a difficult day - he was one of the few aides still left who was working for Edward Kennedy. I visited the office on a Thursday and the very next day they packed up the whole office. It would never be known as Senator Ted Kennedy's office again. It was a trying time for him. Rather than talk policies, we mostly talked about the Senator. When I sat down to write this column regarding managers and leaders, I knew immediately who the best example would be. I may not have agreed with all of Senator Kennedy's policies or some of his decisions, but there is no way...