One does not need to be overly gifted in administration to be a leader. Many have made the case that leadership and management are different from one another. Joseph Rost, in his work Leadership for the 21st Century, argues that both leadership and management are essential but distinct from one another. In his view, management is more about administration and organization, and leadership is more about clarity of direction and values. Some great leaders are simultaneously good managers and gifted in administration. But not all leaders are. At the same time, leaders must reach a threshold of organizational skill or their disorganization becomes a debilitating weakness and holds back the team they are leading. It is bad leadership for leaders to shrug their shoulders and laugh about their disorganized leader.
3 ways a disorganized leader holds the team back
1. Chaotic Urgency
Focused urgency and chaotic urgency are very different. Focused urgency is energy and attention around an opportunity or problem. Chaotic urgency is the state a team or organization perpetually lives in when they are frantically reacting to looming deadlines or last-minute ideas. A disorganized leader can unintentionally spin a team into perpetual chaotic urgency.
