Mailbox - Letter to the Editor

T+D, May, 2002

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Manager or Leader? I just finished reading Marshall Tarley's article "Leadership for Small Organizations" in the March 2002 edition of T D--an excellent article on how to apply what the big boys do [but] a little misleading.

Tarley states that if you want to be a leader, you'd better be a top-notch manager--a statement with which I agree. But I believe he missed a very fine yet crucially important point: Manager and leader aren't synonymous. As a student and trainer of leadership in small organizations, I find that is the toughest concept to impart to participants. The fact is, we manage such things as activities and resources--but we lead people. When management actions require communicating decisions or guidance to others, that becomes a leadership issue.

I found Tarley's article interesting and well written. I just wanted to clarify this fine point.

Jeff Corkran

Elizabethtown

Community College

jeffrey.corkran@kctcs.edu

Tarley replies: Thank you for your email. I agree that there are many differences between leadership and management. ... The point in the article is that... having strong management skills is key to being an effective leader.

Hearts and Flowers I just read Eva KaplanLeiserson's terrific article, "Put Your HeartMath Into It" (February). I've known about those folks for the past two to three years and have always tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to get their programs into the organizations I worked with.

I have a background in biofeedback training and psychotherapy, so the science behind HeartMath's programs isn't new to me. I think Kaplan-Leiserson did a great job presenting the company's initiatives in a balanced light, and that will encourage people to check it out with an eye for their own businesses.

Good work!

Elaine Voci

SkillSoft

evoci@skillsoft.com

Correction

The HeartMath Institute is located in Boulder Creek, California.

More on Ma'amness

Ms. Allerton: I just want to applaud the wonderful article you wrote in Working Life (February). It made my day, and [the day] of all of the women I forwarded it to. We couldn't stop laughing! You hit a nerve!

Here are a few comments I want to share from my friends:

* "Here, here!"

* "I totally agree! And the older I get, it doesn't get any better. I hate 'ma'am' and 'dear,' as if I'm already a dottering 85! who needs to be taken care of and patronized! This is a sore subject for women, isn't it?"

* "I have been 'ma'amed' a lot and can empathize with the author. I've seen, however, older persons address younger persons as 'ma'am' so maybe with wider use, the address will become more akin to 'sir."'

* "This is a humorous article. I especially like [the author's] choice of words--'on the sultry side of 35,' I believe was the phrase."

* "I enjoyed the article. My personal peeve is the waiter (always young and male) who greets women obviously past puberty with, 'What can I get for you girls today?' I believe we're supposed to be flattered by that and leave a larger tip. Little does he know."

* "I thought that only happened [in Canada] and in the deep South! I have been 'Mrs. Martin' and 'Madame Martin' ever since I set foot in Canada. The first time, I had a doctor's appointment and the nurse came out asking for 'Madame Martin.' I just sat there wondering where that person was and why she didn't hurry up and respond!"

Thanks again! And keep up the great writing!

Judith Brown

International Personnel Management Association

jbrown@ipma-hr.org