Solution
Knowledge
Leaders at Saudi Telecom Company (stc) need strategic industry knowledge, especially an understanding of emerging technology like 5G, AI, etc and putting that in perspective to the broader telecom landscape. With the knowledge, they are able to set long term visions and direct the company’s focus to achieving national digital transformation initiatives such as Vision 2030 (CFI Team, 2023).
Managers, however, have needs for operational knowledge of order taking, resource allocation, process optimization, and meeting day to day targets (Wijnhoven, 2024).
The major difference is the viewpoint, and therefore the scope: while the leaders provide strategic insight by using knowledge for innovation and shaping the organization’s future, the managers utilize the knowledge for operations in getting things done. Although both knowledge areas are important, their functions vary in achieving organizational success.
Skills:
Leaders at Saudi Telecom Company (STC) need to have a strong emotional intelligence (EI) not to surprise, inspire or motivate teams, navigate organizational change and people manage effectively. This tool makes leaders relate to employees, get a feel of employees, and boost commitment (Landry, 2019).
On the other hand, managers are expected to have sound problem solving and decision making skills to address obstacles, settle issues and guarantee effective operations (CIPD, 2014).
Although both roles demand strong interpersonal skills, the difference is in the focus. From a leadership point of view, EL is used by leaders to inspire, influence and guide the teams in reaching long term goals, whereas in problem solving, managers rely on EL to solve problems in achieving immediate operational efficiency. Both are important − Important ones, but different in applying to the organizational success.
Behaviors: For leaders at Saudi Telecom Company (STC), being visionary and inspirational is the key behaviour. Meade, A., (2022) states..
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