In modern-day corporate leadership style, the way you talk is important to drive success.

1. In modern-day corporate leadership style, where connecting, engaging
and motivating are the keywords to succeed, where do Process and
Rules repose in the day to day operations within a broader
organizational spectrum? Now we all remember the famous and over-
used quote of Shakespeare:
I say, yes, a name is very important. In our case, "terms". The
functionalities of these two terms and its packaging are crucial to its
cause and effect within teams and to a business.
The value of a company highly depends on the image and actions of its
leaders. A leadership style is mostly understood by the language and
terms used in management. No doubt, why the politicians are good
speakers if not anything good at all (I'll admit there are recent
exceptions). Choose the terms carefully and you'll make the best out of
your capacity to lead.
In this article, I have tried to enunciate the relationship between these
two terms, their similarities, and differences, perceptions, behavior
change/ action factors around these terms that are directly related to
leadership impact.
PROCESSES OR
RULES? - LANGUAGE
OF LEADERSHIP
2017 AUTHOR - ITTELA UMAMA
“What's in a name? that which we call
a rose; By any other name would smell
as sweet.”

2. As a follower of inspirational leadership style, I always
give importance to the first impression of a term within
the group it is going to be used. When leaders talk
about Process, we immediately imagine three words:
STEP BY STEP. Which is way soothing and less stressful
than the words that come to our mind when we hear
the term Rules: CONSEQUENCES IF NOT FOLLOWED.
Processes have a cycle of completion and often
requires support and participation of several teams.
Therefore, ownership is significant for a process to be
successful at its goal. As processes are progressive in
nature and mostly bound with layers of dependencies
to reach the final stage, people are organically
engaged to follow. Whereas, a rule at its nature is
commanding and enforced without an opportunity to
improve or change (remember, we are talking about
the term). It creates a sense of enslavement and blocks
ideas, creativity and potential innovation that could be
an invincible asset to your business.
1. PROCESSES ARE DEVELOPED AND
FOLLOWED TO IMPROVE WHEREAS RULES
ARE ENFORCED AND FOLLOWED TO COMPLY

3. The fun part is when you say Processes, the people
hearing you know that they have a guideline to follow.
It is a support tool that is flexible depending on its
major goals. A professional would be happy to find
processes in place rather roaming around to match
pieces of a puzzle. Processes are vetted by multiple
key players whose actions will be responsible for
meeting and losing business targets. That means a
democratic approach will be followed to develop and
improve processes which matters to me most whether I
am a team member or the leader.
Rules can be tricky. It sounds very linear within the
portfolio of organizational management. I always fear
to use it because it immediately discards the scope of
change which in today's ever-evolving management
world has no value. Also, the fear of negative
outcomes if Rules are not followed can demotivate
workers, thus disengage them from an actual task no
matter how meaningful it is to their jobs.
2. PROCESSES HAVE REASONABLE GOALS
AND CATER TO A NEED GENERATED FROM
MULTIPLE SOURCES WHEREAS, RULES CAN
BE BASED ON PERSONAL PREFERENCES AND
OVERLOOK BROADER MANDATES.

4. What is your organization's culture? How do you want
to incubate your company?. Many would say your
company is like your family. Well, in this case, I'll
disagree. We raise our family often in a nuclear
environment (mom, dad, and children). In an
organizational setup, imagine living with 200 families,
each different in nature, culture, and beliefs. A
complete chaos that it might seem, only processes can
tie them together which will eventually create a
culture acceptable to all within the organization and
the industry it serves. The culture that is built on trust,
transparency, and support will always thrive even in
the most obscure situations. Because their core is
based on a participatory model while making
decisions. That is a Process...not a Rule.
On the other side, Rules have this dictatorial essence
which can seclude participation and build a culture of
individualism and force based on personal preference.
3. PROCESSES AND RULES (AND ALL
SIMILAR TERMINOLOGIES) SPEAK ABOUT
THE CULTURE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION.