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Clarity is the key.

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

Many of you who are reading this might be too young to appreciate the story I share below about my childhood.

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I have always been a huge football fan. I played football in high school until a knee injury cut short my road to the NFL (just kidding), but my love of the game continues to this day. When I was a kid, there was a football game that I received one Christmas that I spent countless hours playing. The game was powered by electricity. The game board was designed as a football field, and there were 22 little plastic players that would form two teams. The players were about 2 to 3 inches tall, with a rubber piece on the bottom that had two flanges that you could move directionally and in theory affect how the piece would move on the board once the power button was hit.
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Do you see yourself in either of these two businesses?

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

Let’s look at examples of managing versus leading from two actual clients.

Stuck in Managing – Center Leadership

I was retained by the owner/CEO of a $40 million manufacturer of a home products company. The current leader inherited the business from his dad, and over 20+ years grew the business on the top line, but always struggled with profitability. Over the last few years, however, there was no top-line growth and he was frustrated.

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His leadership view of the future was the next quarter, and the company had no strategy or vision beyond the current year. The most he thought about the future was when they were preparing their annual budget. This was an incremental process versus a real bottom-up process coupled with a growth strategy so as a management tool, the budget was relatively useless.
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Choose leadership over management.

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

One of the biggest obstacles to a firm realizing its potential, its partners and staff realizing their potential, and a firm leader maximizing his impact on the trajectory of the firm is when the line between leading and managing gets blurred.

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Too often, center leaders believe their job is telling everyone what to do and how to do it (managing things) versus providing the tools, authority and clarity on the firm’s strategic objectives and then getting out of the way (Edge leadership). Leadership at its most basic level is about inspiring everyone toward a common shared vision and ensuring that the decision-making hierarchy is clear and consistent within the firm’s mission and core values. Edge leadership is not about tactics and how things are done, but about making sure everyone is doing the right things, with accountability for results.
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Your response must align with your vision.

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

Within every firm, every leader (Edge or center) faces challenges every day. There is always a gap between the leader’s vision and what is actually taking place on the ground, day to day. There are always situations that develop that challenge a leader’s ability to remain steadfast in their leadership style and vision.

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When this happens, there is an opportunity for firm leaders to step up to the edge and to face the challenge with courage, conviction, transparency and confidence – never wavering on culture or their future vision for the firm. Edge leaders get out in front of the challenge, communicating and demonstrating that they are in control, whereas center leaders let the challenge take control. Edge leaders respond with clarity and focus surrounding the issues facing their workforce, their clients, their financial health and their future.
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What edge vs. center leadership looks like.

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and think about the leaders you have had in the past.

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If you are like me, your experience reflects some really good leaders and some poor leaders, with most being in the middle, i.e., average center leaders. READ MORE →