Leadership and Management

Someone asked me what kind of leader-- tactical, strategic, a few other options I don't recall-- I thought I might be. I'm a little ashamed to say I tanked the question.

I am adept at ignoring the premise(s) of a question. But in this case I really wanted to answer the question because I'm struggling to build a relationship after an involuntary re-org. That requires being genuine. I'm trying here.

I think I stumbled because the question made no sense from my point of view.

First off, I am a leader now. I don't need authority to lead. The question sort of conflated leadership and management which are two different but related things.

Second, I can't imagine being just one kind of leader. A team is made up of a leaders and team-mates and the relationships between them different people have different needs and motivations. Every relationship is different so managing that person is different and specific to that relationship. There is also an unrelated diplomatic function a leader must carry out when interfacing with outsiders as well as a somewhat related role of being the face of the team up the direct chain of command.

If I had the chance to answer the question again I'd say, "I think a good leader has to have and utilize all the tools you listed and more. The trick is to know which to use when. Even when making a tactical decision one must keep strategic implications in mind and vice-versa."