Leaders and Managers

Leadership is different than Management. Good leaders in any organization must also be good managers. The emphasis should be on the leadership factor, but that is seldom the case. Traditionally the focus was on managing, people-departments-processes-time-dollars etc. We’ve learned that managing things is appropriate, but the management of people is something a good leader will try to diminish or eliminate. If you train and develop your people, they no longer need to be managed, but they still need leadership.

So what is this thing we call leadership? Author Warren Bennis differentiates managers and leaders with this simple comparison…..”Managers focus on doing things right, Leaders focus on doing the right things right.“

Managers and leaders have also been differentiated as Efficiency versus Effectiveness. It’s important we’re efficient, but not at the sacrifice of effectiveness. Effective leaders focus on the desired result. For example, it might be more efficient from a budgetary standpoint to have the top salesman arrive at the morning sales meeting by taking the “red eye” from the west coast. But, if the outcome we desire is to show this salesman how much we appreciate his efforts, we will fly him in the night before, so that he’s fresh and ready for the morning meeting. Flying him or her in the night before is “the right thing to do”.

Max DePree, the author of “Leadership is an Art” says, “Leaders don’t inflict pain, they bear pain”. If you are truly focused on the results desired, you would never inflict pain. Inflicting pain will never get you the desired long term outcome. Leaders care about the people they ‘work for’. You’ll notice I said, ‘work for’. True leaders view themselves as stewards of the business and for the people who make the business viable. Real leaders realize that without a dedicated group of motivated people, the business will be out of business.

Leaders create an environment where the majority of people choose to be there. The leader knows that his or her worst nightmare is to be surrounded by a group of people who feel they have to be there. Any organization populated with people who feel trapped, feel lucky to have a job, and have no confidence in their abilities and skills, normally develop a negative attitude and do just enough to get by. These people often “quit and stay”. And you as their manager have no one to blame but YOU.

Peter Block, author of “Stewardship” makes the statement: “No one should be able to make a living simply watching, controlling, and evaluating the actions of others.” I agree.

To be an organization of leaders we must:  1. Take care who you bring into the organization 2. Teach the job they will do with care 3. Trust them to do it and have high expectations 4. Develop them to take on more responsibilities 5. Reward them for growing with the organization 6. Catch them doing things right and let them know you appreciate them 7. Ask them how you can be a better leader.

When the best leader’s work is done, the people can say…..”we did it ourselves!”