Tuesday September 30, 2008

Managers vs. Leaders

Managers vs. Leaders
I want to thank the thousands of Clemson people that read yesterday’s blog and the hundreds that have responded with comments on the blog page or e-mails, phone calls and text messages.

I think it is appropriate to continue to clarify a few items from yesterday’s blog.

Everyone should form their own opinion and I am not telling those that still support Bowden they are wrong. However, it is hard to find anyone that is fully supportive at this point. I have always said that I will support the current Clemson head coach as long as he was the head coach and that is still the case. I want Bowden to win every game from here on out. As I said yesterday, it would be a great day in my life if I had to pick up the phone the Monday after the ACC title game and apologize to Tommy because I was wrong. But as I said yesterday, I have lost hope and think a change is needed.

On e-mailer asked me how did I go from an apologist to a doubter in one game? The answer is simple. My first radio show was November 2, 1998. It was the Monday after Tommy West lost to NC State. I knew that first day that West was gone and two weeks later he was fired. Bowden was named the head coach less than a month later.

In all, I have hosted about 2,500 radio shows. I started the blog two and a half years ago and have written about 600 blogs. Not once, publically or privately have I said Bowden needed to let go, until yesterday. The reason I never said it or wrote it before was because I never felt that way. I was just giving my opinion. My gut always told me that good times were still ahead. My gut always told me that firing Bowden was not the answer.

The reason I wrote yesterday’s blog was because my gut told me that it was time. I still wanted to talk to football people and make sure I was not crazy but they only reiterated what I felt. Yesterday was the first time I felt that way. I can’t fake it and thought anything other than the truth was not acceptable. The truth is I have come to a different conclusion on the future leadership of the football program. It is time for a change.

It is my opinion that times are about to get bad around here. As I said yesterday, I expect IPTAY donations to drop next season because seat equity did not satisfy a lot of people. Many donors went up because the high expectations of a top ten pre-season and the hope that they could improve their seats. Well, the Tigers are not going to finish in the top ten and many have figured out that they will not move their seats so many will drop back to their original level. I can see a major drop in IPTAY next year but it would be worse if Bowden is still around. I just get the sense that the masses want a change and my gut tells me they are right.

Tuition keeps going up and the economy has made a big down turn. Times look like they may get tough around this place. But this is where leadership needs to kick in.

The athletic department, the university administration, the board of trustees and the coaching staffs face adversity and leadership is needed.

There is a difference between a manager and a leader. A friend e-mailed me this morning and wrote, “You manage things. You lead people.”

The following are exerts from the website, www.changingminds.org:

“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. By definition, managers have subordinates - unless their title is honorary and given as a mark of seniority, in which case the title is a misnomer and their power over others is other than formal authority. Managers are paid to get things done (they are subordinates too), often within tight constraints of time and money. They thus naturally pass on this work focus to their subordinates. An interesting research finding about managers is that they tend to come from stable home backgrounds and led relatively normal and comfortable lives. This leads them to be relatively risk-averse and they will seek to avoid conflict where possible. In terms of people, they generally like to run a 'happy ship'.

Leaders do not have subordinates - at least not when they are leading….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.

Telling people what to do does not inspire them to follow you. You have to appeal to them, showing how following them will lead to their hearts' desire. They must want to follow you enough to stop what they are doing and perhaps walk into danger and situations that they would not normally consider risking.
Leaders with a stronger charisma find it easier to attract people to their cause. As a part of their persuasion they typically promise transformational benefits, such that their followers will not just receive extrinsic rewards but will somehow become better people.

In the same study that showed managers as risk-averse, leaders appeared as risk-seeking, although they are not blind thrill-seekers. When pursuing their vision, they consider it natural to encounter problems and hurdles that must be overcome along the way.”

I hear Clemson people when they say they are ready to be inspired. I think Clemson people are ready to get on board. They were ready when asked to up the ante with seat equity last year but they need more because this season has not worked out so far. I see a lot of managers but Clemson people need to follow a leader. They need a leader to step up and inspire them once again. The question is, “Who is that leader?”

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