Training for Management? I Think Not

Our motto is "Training for Leadership", but what happens when one actually falls within the mold of "Training for Management"?

As there a ton of resources and documents to define the differences between being a leader and a manager, one of the surest ways to determine which mode of operating you are witnessing or a part of is whether there is the presence of fear within your operating environment.

Managers operate from a fear-based perspective versus a faith-based perspective. This is not to say that a religious doctrine is the main ingredient, but managers essentially work to save face through pride, maintain a level of security, and not take any risks that might challenge the status quo.

After all, a manager earned their position by not rocking the boat and going along to get along. A leader is chosen to usher the organization from its current position to a preferred, more suitable, and highly desired position (an oasis and place of abundance if you will).

Does management have a place within Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.? Sure it does as it relates to maintaining the achievements of the past in terms of ensuring that our resources and assets are safe guarded and that our storehouses are not needlessly suffering decay, expiration, and theft.

But even managers have to fulfill the expectations of being trained and training others for leadership. It compromises the organization when a manager is more concerned whether their inefficiencies are going to be exposed or that someone else becomes a threat to their position.

There is a difference between being a manager and having to practice management. But being a leader and practicing leadership is the same.

Managers love bureaucracy because it defines who has power and who does not. Managers love organizational charts, PowerPoint slides, corporate speak, and a polished, professional appearance, a poker face, predesignated decorum, conformity, and sticking to the regular routine.

This is not to say that leaders are to be unprofessional by any means, but that leaders love authentic conversations.

Leaders love to know what is on your mind, how your family is doing, what is going on in your life, and what do you think we should do?

Managers want to know where their seat is located on the dais, when are you going to announce and introduce them, why isn't everybody standing when I enter the room, and where is the private dining room?

Managers also want to know where is my entourage, where is my security detail, where are the cameras, where is my place up front for the photo shoot, who is this person at the microphone, why wasn't I briefed in advance that this threat was going to surface, why didn't somebody tell me who I was dealing with, who is trying set me up and take my position, what chapter are they affiliated with, are they planning to run for my office, what is the best way to get revenge, why is this person touching me, when did they become a member, and who signed off on allowing them my time to talk.

Managers will definitely want to know how well you know and are versed in Robert's Rules of Order and the laws, regulations, constitution, by-laws, statutes, amendments, line items, history, and spirit of the laws of the land.

Ask a leader a difficult question and he or she will bring you closer to them for an answer. Ask a manager a difficult question and they will push you further away.

Managers absolutely wage war than to be seen not having an answer or to sweat in public.

Managers either chase ambulances and/or are driving them;)

The presence of fear makes people do crazy things.

As a leader, we have to wage war to defend ourselves and the helpless, but managers typically wage battles to advance their cause in the short-term while losing the war.

Paranoia becomes their best friend once the crown is placed on their heads. They were already crazy, but the difference is that they now have a tastetester for everything;D)

"Training for Management" should be one of the best punch lines jokingly (although it might be a cruel joke as well) used within our Bond. This is an inside joke that popped in my head this morning when remembering past managers within and external to the Bond.

I too was trained for management and I was very successful at it until I escaped from the plantation;))

My first job after college was as a restaurant manager for a South Carolina based chain named Quincy's that would compare and compete with Golden Corral, Shoney's, and Sizzler (if they still exist).

The restaurant location where I worked is now closed. It had too many managers and not enough leaders.

I was hooked up with the initial introduction by one of my Sands who worked there and moved up through the ranks from dishwasher to cook. All of this occurred in the late 80s.

As time progressed before, during, and after my tenure there, a ton of Nupes from my undergraduate chapter who worked there. We had an assembly line of people from my college working there as well.

Even though I received 4 weeks of training, managers all up and down the chain of command all said that there was the textbook training and the real world way of doing things.

Needless to say as a recent graduate and having just made the direct transition from undergraduate polemarch to alumni advisor for the same chapter, I needed to keep my job in a city where it was not too common for a Black male to occupy such a position.

It was one of those "good jobs" as many would say.

But I was miserable. I had to work virtually every weekend and had to do everything within my power just to stay employed. If the highest-ranked manager (who actually got his job as a result of the restaurant's CEO / company founder attending the same college and was his fraternity brother as well) had something he wanted done when he wanted it done, I was in no position to say no.

I did not feel any level of security whatsoever.

But over time, I quickly learned what i's needed to be dotted, t's crossed, and what to say if I was ever backed into a corner. CYA was taught to us by the corporate trainer and this doctrine of self-preservation was adhered to like a lifeline.

Yes, my name is Roney Smith and I am a recovering manager;)

I've been there and have the t-shirts, caps, and tattoos to prove it. So whenever I am in a conversation, I can instantly tell whether I am talking to a manager or a leader.

It was not until I sought to regain my own sanity and self-esteem after reaching the point of I am not taking this anymore, did the situation change in my life. I seized the opportunity to become a math teacher and have my weekends and summers for other nonworking concerns.

But you know what? Managers were found in the school district and education as an industry as well. Managers are found whenever and wherever organizations exist.

You cannot run away from them since then are usually one of the first to always volunteer for positions of power:))

This is another clue on how to identify managers: managers tend to volunteer a lot (no, excessively) in order to jockey for power.

Being an early adopter is one thing, but being a crack head for position and power is something else:)

Is there a resolution? Yes, there is.

Everyone must realize that there is an ebb and flow to being the leader or manager of any organization. There is a time and place for both roles and having the wisdom to know when leadership is required and when management is preferred is the most critical key of all.

Again, there is a difference between being a manager and having to practice management. But being a leader and practicing leadership is the same.

So the next time you are in the presence of a manager, smile, laugh when you return to your car, and say a prayer for them. They really need it for the misery they are in and the torture that they are putting others through.

When you are in the presence of a leader, you will feel empowered to empower others, sense a degree of security and progression to higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and no fear and doubt will be tolerated.

Here are some links to articles written on the psychopaths and sociopaths who are managers within corporate American in Fast Company magazine and a quiz to find out if you are working for, with, and/or have to report to one.

An all-time list of bosses from hell and a coping mechanism appears as well.

If it walks like a manager and talks like a manager, then it is time to say AFLAC and save a lot of money on your car insurance with GEICO;))

The ultimate put-downs to truthfully say when you meet a manager: you are a well-trained manager or you manage it very well;)

Then listen for how much they cannot get enough and gloat with their corporate talk:D)

For your further enjoyment, here is a movie recommendation about the way managers think entitled "Office Space". I do warn you in advance that you will need some Kleenex tissue or an oxygen tank from laughing so hard;)



Yours in the Bond!