Are you a Leader? Or a Manager?
“Managers light a fire UNDER people; Leaders light a fire IN people.” – Kathy Austin
Do you agree?
I often debate the differences between a Manager and a Leader. Both are authoritative roles, but sometimes the line drawn to separate the two can SMUDGE. This makes it incredibly difficult to know when you are LEADING someone or just MANAGING them.
This is an ESPECIALLY important distinction.
Why?
You cannot LEAD your team to meet their deadlines and you most certainly cannot MANAGE your team to become motivated. Humans simply can’t operate that way.
As in Professor Steve Peters book “The Chimp Paradox” humans developed over millennia to survive the environment around them. Therefore, you can re-programme yourself to be a leader or a manager in whatever environment that gives you cause to do so.
It takes time and effort, but YOU CAN do it.
We as humans, are led by EMOTION.
Emotional ties encourage us to do BETTER, whether it be associated with monetary value or lifestyle value.
We become inspired by people who we can relate to. Those who have overcome similar obstacles and are now growing faster and further than we are.
Who is this person for you?
Is it a CEO of a large corporation or a director in a small business?
Both can inspire us dependent on their work ETHIC and ATTITUDE. How did they reach the heady heights from the beginning to now?
Do you try and emulate them in some way?
We need MANAGEMENT to ensure we are staying on track with our goals. Especially in a world where there is a million and one things needed to be done yesterday.
Time is precious.
We know we WANT leaders but don’t realise we NEED managers. We have all had those moments where we felt motivated and ready to improve ourselves almost instantaneously. But instead of ACTING on your inspiration, you got caught up in the day to day work in life and kept saying “NEXT TIME”.
That’s because we need MANAGEMENT.
We need a manager to remind us of what we were inspired by and to take ACTION right there and then. So, what IS the difference?
Leaders utilise their past experience to create stories that will inspire you.
Managers align you with your goals and make them achievable.
Conclusion?
To be SUCCESSFUL in any endeavour both Leadership and Management need to work in a COHESIVE balance.
If you Inspire and Align, then you will Achieve.
Written By Leyla Hussein