What’s the Buzz word all about?
The constant inundation of buzz words or buzz phrases, which are generally of low substance or meaning and intended to impress the crowd, have a numbing effect on word value and consequently applied understanding.
Jayme L. Burdiek, MBA, AIF® | Lecturer of Management | Washburn University School of Business | Photo Submitted
Are there more questions or answers today? Which is of greater importance, the answer or the question? Is this factual? What does that mean? Where is the data? How was the study funded and by whom? Who fact checks the fact checkers? How will this make me the standout?
Does this barrage of jargon and pseudo information inspire a desire for quality or prompt an inclination to disconnect and a quiet acceptance of the status quo?
A quick online search for management or leadership buzz words will return a plethora of results. Resume gurus and headhunting recruiters suggest the latest and greatest differentiating terms and gimmicks to implement, virtually guaranteeing a job growth paradigm shift.
Yet the true meanings, the innate characteristics of management and leadership are not trendy. They are perpetual and worthwhile pursuits. They are destinations not glamorized titles and pay scales. People, countries, and cultures are built upon them. They are cornerstones in personal lives, public institutions, and organizations alike that society cannot afford becoming desensitized to.
“In the words of both Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis, ‘Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.’ Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
—Stephen R. Covey
At Washburn University School of Business, Organization and Management is a required core course for the Bachelor of Business Administration degree program regardless of major concentration. Students are presented with a comprehensive framework of management terminology, theory, and practical insights to recognize environmental and economic forces that affect business decisions and ultimately organizational success.
To begin laying the foundation for classroom and lifetime learning, a shared understanding of vocabulary, word meaning in context, is necessary for the transfer information to be effectively converted into applicable knowledge.
Focusing through the management lens, students are able to develop tools for understanding why organizations exist, how work gets done, who does the work, what role responsibilities are, and how to prepare to fill those roles.
In organizations, it is paramount that onboarding and training programs define the policies, processes, expectations, and language of the firm because everyone manages something, somewhere, every day. Decisions made at all levels of an entity affect productivity, quality, and profit. Excellent managers continue to be students throughout their careers.
As technology continues to enable global opportunities for businesses, terminology management systems and careers are in demand, reaching revenue estimates of 30 million U.S. dollars annually according to Nimdzi.com. These systems enable consistency and boost effectiveness by eliminating misunderstandings internally between departments as well as externally with clients and prospects across countries and cultures.
Defining tactical objectives with clear and precise language, such as establishing a business glossary, fortifies organizational structure which otherwise is at risk of public damage by personal interpretation.
Practical management supports workers by defining and developing technical and industry skills, is concerned about staff and environments, solves problems, delegates, celebrates, and develops people.
“I’ll tell you what leadership is. It’s persuasion and conciliation, and education, and patience.”
—President Dwight D. Eisenhower | Native Kansan and Five Star General
Leadership is the natural progression of an individual contributor who has grown beyond the skillset required to do job tasks and later rises above the role of a manager who accomplishes organizational goals through the staff they supervise. The manager is not yet by definition a leader because their effort remains focused on goal setting, administration, and achievement.
However, when a leadership position is attained, the leader does not forgo or relinquish management knowledge, they recognize that leadership is not management and strive to gain additional attributes, perspectives, and means of strategic thinking and design. Leaders prioritize, envision and create possibilities, carry themselves with integrity, and inspire others to do the same. Leadership is contingent upon influence and strategy, harnessing and applying the power of time and energy, creating an atmosphere of expectation.
Prioritization enables time and space for inspiration. Gone are the days when leadership theory focused upon being born with ideal makeup of personality traits, charisma, and intuition. Intention, study, and desire are the building blocks for today’s leaders.
The Washburn University Leadership Institute is a development program for students who desire leadership experiences and skills. Whether seeking a minor or a certificate, students study ethics, responsibility, and conceptual leadership, and gain an opportunity to mentor with active leaders during internships based upon their major or area of interest.
Extended study is available through the Washburn Transformational Experience (WTE) and Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership. WTE students serve while they learn about themselves and inspired servant leaders in the region and beyond.
Transformational leaders persuade followers to look past their own interests to band together in excellence for LEADERSHIP—PRIORITIZING & INSPIRING the betterment of the organization and society as a whole. As the WTE website states, “...they graduate from the University as citizens who recognize the abundance of leadership opportunities and are ready to accept the mantle of responsibility that comes with these opportunities.”
The strength and resilience that determined leaders and managers display as they prioritize, inspire, define, and develop, enable them to draw upon their mettle and spirit to effectively usher in change. New ideas become inventions, workspaces break from the confines of location and language, creative energy is fed by freedom to think and discuss, and impediments to change are removed for work groups.
The real work of management and leadership is what matters: integrity, understanding, and developing qualities in people that produce respect, enlightenment, improved standards of living and learning. The caliber of leaders today determines the opportunities our children will have tomorrow. And that is what the buzz is truly about.
TK
