Leading versus Managing ( Part 1)

Strategic Leaders provide their followers with general guidelines, just as The Prussian Marshal Helmuth von Moltke (1800 - 1891) did , by promoting directives to his officers rather than commands .
Moltke wanted to foster entrepreneurship among his ranks by motivating Prussian officers to practice autonomous decision making .
Great entrepreneurs create a corporate culture in which their vision, core values and business strategies are lived by employees who think independently.
In an Harvard Business Review article, Hans Hinterhuber and Wolfgang Popp translate Moltke's example into business terms. According to Moltke, strategy should mean; applied common sense and is a skill that cannot be taught.
Both authors suggest that good entrepreneurs and managers—as Moltke did with his generals--are born with the qualities that make them successful.
But, potential is not everything, like top athletes, in order to become a champion one has to constantly and continuously work and develop this natural ability.
Hinterhuber and Popp have created a questionnaire that can help potential strategic leaders to measure their own strategic management competence.

Here are the questions that can guide you trough your introspectional process and, hopefully, provide food for thought.
1. Do you have an entrepreneurial vision for your company and your business unit/department within it?
2. Do you have a clear sense of the corporate philosophy and the role that you play in it?
3. Do you feel your product, service or brand offers your customer a unique competitive advantage ?
4. Do the people who report to you use their ability to act independently in the company's best interest, without too much micromanaging on your part?
5. Does the department/business unit you manage reflect your own vision?
6. Do you involve your direct reports/followers in strategic planning?
7. Are the core values in your department/business unit compatible with these strategies?
8. Do you monitor the external competition closely and try to learn new things from them?
9. Do you feel that your success has been due to hard work rather than luck?
10. Are you trying to leave the world a better place than how you found it?