Jiří Koleňák: My name is Jiří Koleňák and welcome to the Úspěšní (Successful) podcast, where my guests and I explore the principles and habits that drive their success. This series we are launching today is very special. We are producing it in partnership with the Czech Management Association, focusing on leaders who won the Manager of the Year award. I am delighted to welcome Olga Girslová, President of the Czech Management Association, a highly successful entrepreneur, executive, and ambassador for female leadership. Hi Olga, welcome to the podcast.
Olga Girslová: Thank you, Jiří, for the warm welcome and for the opportunity to be part of this special series dedicated to management and leadership. I am thrilled to welcome our guest today, Jiří Střelec, an expert in business management, leadership, strategy, process optimization, and corporate performance. Welcome, Jiří! Is there anything you’d like to add to that introduction?
Jiří Střelec: First of all, thank you very much for having me. I am delighted that you are highlighting successful managers, as this is a topic the Czech Republic genuinely needs. To add to that: strategy is a deep passion of mine—I even contributed to the national Fire Prevention Concept of the Czech Republic. My second major passion is corporate communication, specifically healing internal communication because healthy communication directly heals businesses.
Jiří Koleňák: Before diving into expert topics, I always ask my opening question: what brought you the greatest joy in recent days? Olga, what was it for you?
Olga Girslová: Spending time with my five-year-old grandchildren. They keep me fully engaged, and playing with them brings me pure joy.
Jiří Koleňák: Thank you. Jiří, how about you?
Jiří Střelec: Seeing my team collaborate seamlessly to create innovative client proposals. Watching people complement each other's strengths is incredibly rewarding.
Jiří Koleňák: Today, we will establish core definitions for this new series, focusing specifically on the distinction between a manager and a leader. Olga and I will alternate questions. Jiří, how do you define the fundamental difference between a manager and a leader?
Jiří Střelec: Simply put, a manager takes a business plan and guides the organization and its people to deliver concrete results. Managers focus on execution—the "how." A leader operates at a higher altitude, surveying the macro landscape, identifying market shifts, and setting the strategic direction. Crucially, both hold overarching responsibility for the enterprise, which extends to the lives and well-being of their employees and families.
Olga Girslová: That is a vital perspective. At the Czech Management Association, we emphasize that management is a distinct profession alongside leadership, requiring close collaboration between both roles. How would you elaborate on that synergy?
Jiří Střelec: From my 30 years in practice, managers require solid foundational habits across core management disciplines. When Olga says "management is a profession," it resonates deeply. A manager must master hard skills: strategic planning, team building, talent selection, and structured communication. In sports terms, the manager designs the playing field, builds the squad, and assigns positions to deliver results. Leaders, on the other hand, require developed competencies in vision, empathy, open communication, and market intuition—the softer skills that anticipate organizational needs and market trajectories in synergy with management execution.
Jiří Koleňák: What is the difference between developing managers versus developing leaders? Can leadership actually be taught?
Jiří Střelec: Leadership can absolutely be taught. It comes down to targeted competency development. For example, strategic thinking can be systematically cultivated through specific cognitive exercises that train individuals to evaluate choices like a leader. A common operational flaw occurs when leaders articulate a compelling vision but assume managers automatically know how to execute it without a structured game plan. Managers must be trained to translate high-level vision into actionable roadmaps across operations, technology, human resources, and finance.
Jiří Koleňák: Can one individual fulfill both roles simultaneously as a "two-in-one"?
Jiří Střelec: Yes, especially in smaller enterprises where dedicated executive roles aren't feasible. A founder must consciously switch hats—acting as a visionary leader when updating annual strategy, then switching to an operational manager to structure plans, assign tasks, and track execution. The advantage is continuous strategic alignment. The risk arises if the leader stays lost in the clouds while daily execution falls behind schedule.
Olga Girslová: How does this balance influence corporate culture?
Jiří Střelec: Significantly. A true leader—like the late Martin Čihon—inspires deep trust and empowers teams so effectively that people voluntarily go above and beyond to fulfill the vision. Core values modeled by leaders and enforced by managers directly shape organizational behavior. If a leader models fairness, that standard cascades across every tier of the business. Furthermore, managers directly control the daily working environment through how they communicate, explain decisions, and engage teams.
Olga Girslová: So managers and leaders must continuously integrate their competencies, especially when introducing new technologies like AI into daily operations.
Jiří Střelec: Exactly. Daily operations must be executed cleanly. Visionary leaders easily grasp macro shifts—such as leveraging AI to expand human potential—because that strategic mindset is their natural state. However, asking a visionary to step into daily firefighting, resolve interpersonal office conflicts, or manage detailed backlog software tickets requires a complete cognitive gear shift. That is where operational managers excel. Leaders need trustworthy operational partners who translate vision into optimized processes, resource allocation, and measurable metrics.
Jiří Koleňák: What tools or communication principles prevent strategic vision from getting "lost in translation" between leaders and managers?
Jiří Střelec: Visual modeling is an exceptionally powerful framework. Mapping out strategic visions and operational game plans visually on paper allows leaders and managers to align interactively in real time. Once the visual roadmap is established, we attach operational KPIs, metrics, and reporting structures. Second, maintaining open, transparent dialogue—often facilitated by a strategic moderator or mediator who bridges high-level vision with operational reality.
Jiří Koleňák: What does a strategic moderator do?
Jiří Střelec: They are experienced facilitators skilled in communication, workshop moderation, and real-world business management. They understand corporate strategy and operational realities without distorting the visionary's core intent, ensuring both sides align effectively.
Olga Girslová: Jiří, when did you personally feel more like a leader than an operational manager?
Jiří Střelec: Two key moments stand out. First, when I founded the Vlastní cesta (Own Path) platform, realizing business owners needed tailored guidance amidst constant market change. Second, when Vlastní cesta hit an operational plateau. I stepped back from daily operations to restructure our entire strategy, selection process, and partner rules—which enabled us to scale from 8 specialists to 18, heading toward 30+.
Olga Girslová: You essentially built a new management model centered on custom development paths.
Jiří Střelec: Yes. Management development must account for both the individual's growth edges and the company's strategic targets. We identify what blocks a manager—whether it's delegating tough assignments, unoptimized processes, or misaligned KPIs—and resolve those friction points. For instance, implementing structured project management training for one client scaling from 800 to 2,000 employees generated multi-million savings that far exceeded the training investment.
Jiří Koleňák: What role do crises and hard times play in maturing leaders?
Jiří Střelec: Crises clean out non-functional elements and force organizational clarity. During COVID-19, I stepped in to lead an organization directly when existing management froze under unprecedented conditions. We don't learn much during smooth sailing; crises inject urgency, force us to abandon comfort, and compel leaders and managers to adapt aggressively to survive.
Jiří Koleňák: Who notices a crisis first—managers or leaders?
Jiří Střelec: Active, engaged individuals across both levels notice first. As the late Professor Milan Zelený famously stated: "Competition is nonsense; cooperation is the path." Professor Zelený strongly advocated recognizing management as a distinct, noble profession requiring rigorous study and practice.
Jiří Koleňák: Looking ahead, what are the most critical challenges facing management and leadership over the coming years?
Jiří Střelec: First, mastering adaptability and leading change. Stability is no longer static; it is the capacity to adapt continuously. Leaders must build a sense of urgency so teams willingly embrace necessary operational shifts. Second, integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is fundamentally changing workflows—employees now prompt AI for solutions previously drafted by managers. Managers must evaluate whether AI-generated outputs align with business goals, while leaders must leverage AI data models to forge entirely new strategic growth paths.
Jiří Koleňák: I view AI as a new foundational raw resource. Over recent months, AI has tripled my personal productivity—acting as an analytical sparring partner that delivers competitor research and deep data synthesis in seconds. Adaptability will separate competitive firms from obsolete ones. Leaders carry a duty to eliminate fear around AI and guide their organizations onto this wave.
Olga Girslová: We saw this clearly among recent Manager of the Year nominees—leaders who implemented AI early achieved distinct performance leaps compared to industry peers.
Jiří Střelec: I integrated AI into knowledge frameworks nearly nine years ago, so I recognize its immense power. The key challenge now is training teams to utilize AI ethically and effectively rather than relying on it blindly.
Jiří Koleňák: Olga, where is the Czech Management Association heading in terms of manager education and regional development?
Olga Girslová: We are building a nationwide platform for peer knowledge exchange and regional growth. A key new initiative is establishing ČMA Centers of Excellence at regional universities—such as Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Technical University of Liberec, and Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem—to support management standards beyond major metropolitan hubs.
Jiří Koleňák: What should we know about the upcoming Manager of the Year awards?
Olga Girslová: Nominations open in April, with the gala awards taking place on October 7th at the International Engineering Fair in Brno. We updated our evaluation criteria to reflect AI integration, long-term ESG sustainability, employee motivation, and overall organizational health.
Jiří Koleňák: Why should professionals seek nomination for Manager of the Year?
Olga Girslová: Being nominated is a prestigious public recognition of a manager's long-term contribution to enterprise prosperity, regional employment, and corporate culture. Nominations come from corporate boards, financial institutions, consultancies, and public administration.
Jiří Koleňák: Public administration managers often showcase remarkably inspiring transformations, challenging traditional stereotypes about the public sector.
Olga Girslová: Indeed! The impact of public sector nominations led ČMA to establish a dedicated Management in Public Administration club, featuring specialized workshops and a national conference in June.
Jiří Koleňák: Highlighting exceptional leaders inspires others across the entire nation. Olga, Jiří, thank you both very much for a fantastic discussion.
Jiří Střelec: Thank you for having me. Shining a spotlight on capable leaders is essential for our country's growth.
Olga Girslová: Thank you, Jiří, it was a pleasure.
Jiří Koleňák: To our viewers, stay tuned for upcoming episodes as we introduce the winners of the Manager of the Year awards and explore the habits driving their success. See you next time!
