David Rogerson examines leadership and management in radio.
Hand in hand with the rise of the Trump factor and the Brexit strategy in the UK, media operators across the globe are seeking stronger leadership inside their operations. The question of stronger leadership quality as against management skills is emerging as the next big issue ahead for those requiring a dynamic business operation.
Why in 2017 is there suddenly a greater interest around stronger leadership styles from General Managers to Program/ Content Directors and Sales Managers? Although it may seem like a difficult question it has a relatively uncomplicated answer.
When things are in crisis, leaders emerge. Whether it’s in a large corporation, small enterprise or even political parties, throughout history leaders emerge when things are not going as well as everyone would like.
Think about a great leader you may have worked for in radio, come across or admired in another business operation. What was it about their leadership style that made them more than just a manager of people? Maybe they were strong on providing positive feedback around how you were performing as a PD or GM. That feedback may have been balanced with suggestions on how you could improve. Or it could have been they had vision for what future opportunities existed and made tough decisions to achieve them while others stood by and faltered around them?
When there is no crisis inside a business, a typical “manager” may cruise through the days, months and sometimes years doing a reasonably good job that most people are happy with. Ratings are okay, revenue is fine, and they’re hitting the sales/ratings targets most of the time. Rarely though do they exceed the ratings or revenue targets during times when real competitive opportunities exist in their market. Their performance is nothing out of the ordinary, but okay enough to get them through. Managers like this maintain the status quo and can move from issue to issue with relative ease leaving others to pick up the mess behind. Often, they are nice people, who often prefer to be liked than disliked when making any type of decision.
Managers have the ability in many cases to get people to blindly follow along. Whether you’ve been in radio for a long time or relative short period, there’s a strong likelihood that you’ve come across the “followers.” These are the people inside the station who are more than comfortable with following along behind the others. They are at ease in following the person who is just a manager.
Unfortunately, much of life and business is taken up with “followers.” These tend to be people who are not readily motivated to do the heavy lifting to get the harder things done. They don’t mind watching or making suggestions to others on how to do that heavy lifting. Following along is something that comes naturally to them. When it comes to assisting in really getting a tough task done or a tough decision resolved, the follower’s response is to stand back and view the scene from a distance away from the lifting action. Sound familiar? Managers do well with those who are followers and accept there’s no great need to strive for continuing improvement. Managers do what they do, take some direction and accept the norm as being the way to go without rocking the boat too much.
On the other hand, leaders know how to lead people, companies and sometimes countries out of critical problems. All the while they do it they’re strategically steering a newer, clearer course for the future.
When you analyse it this way, managers can manage, but good leaders require great talent.
Leaders know how to lead out of present chaos. They also know how to appropriately ensure the followers are accountable for their collective roles and responsibilities too. Importantly, Leaders know how to steer away from chaos in the future.
When the question of leadership versus management skills in radio arise, it’s now easier to see why we’re moving away from an era of single focused management skills, to the strategic quality of leadership skills among those who have clear vision for the future.
David Rogerson is the Managing Director, Strategic Media Solutions & Strategic New Media, Asia Pacific.
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