Do You Lead or Manage?

“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there.” John Kotter

Last week I received a call from Amy, who works for a small company where she was a department head. She was so good at her job, that when the owner retired he put Amy in charge, and she became President of the company. Unfortunately, although Amy was an outstanding manager and ran her department smoothly, she is having a difficult time being the leader of the company. Amy’s job now is to lead her team, and she has discovered that she has no idea how to go about it.

Many people experience the same dilemma as Amy, who thought that leading and managing are the same thing. The reality is that they are quite different.

How are leading and managing different?

A manager/supervisor is usually a person in a designated position. Managers have a job or title that lets others know they are in charge. They are the people who make things happen and get things done. Managers are usually well educated in their field and have a good understanding of their area of expertise. The ability to manage well is a ‘left-brain activity’, involving structure and organization. Managers take the leader’s vision and organize whatever needs to be done to make the vision a reality. They designate, delegate and structure systems and people.

What is a leader?

The leader is the person who provides the vision for the future. S/he is aware of the possibilities and can see where the organization is headed, and then inspires others to come along. It’s not necessary for a leader to have detailed knowledge of how things are done.  Instead the leader has the vision of the destination and what things will be like when they get there

A good leader also respects the people who follow him/her, and empowers them to do their jobs. The leader knows that his/her job is to support his/her people so they can do what needs to be done to move the organization towards the vision.

When Amy was a manager her job was to get things done, so when she became President she continued to organize, structure and manage people and systems. The result was that her department heads felt undermined and devalued, and the staff was confused about who was in charge.  Morale dropped drastically and two of her managers quit.

That’s when she called me, and we decided to look at how she can lead rather than manage.

 Does this sound familiar?  Are you acting as a manager when your job is to lead, or trying to lead when management is what is needed? Does this leave you frustrated and your employees confused?

For only $1.99 Find the difference between “Leadership and Management”, and when each of these skill sets should be used. Also discover how to empower others by effectively “Endorsing, Complimenting and Acknowledging” them.

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Are You Living Your Purpose?

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.” ~Erma Bombeck

Rick was frustrated with his job.  He was good at it, but was feeling that he wasn’t “fulfilling his life purpose”. Over the years Rick had many jobs, and excelled at them all, but always felt an inner sense of restlessness because he wasn’t “doing what he’s here to do”.

It turned out that Rick wasn’t clear about exactly what his life purpose is, and was trying to discover it by fitting himself into different jobs and titles.  In college he majored in one thing, but once he went into that field he realized it didn’t fit his personality well.  He then moved to several other jobs, thinking that they would meet his need.  However he continued to feel restless and unfulfilled.

Does this sound familiar?  Have you worked at fitting into a job, role or title, when what you’re really trying to discover is why you are here and what your ultimate “life purpose” is.  Do you constantly change things in your life, hoping to feel fulfilled, yet continuing to feel empty and confused?

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Nevertheless or Regardless!

Neverthe less or regardless post goes here

You’re Talking But Are You Communicating?

Several years ago my two young children, my husband and I were traveling in the car. The traffic was heavy and my husband was tense at the wheel. The kids were giggling and playing in the back seat and in frustration my husband said “will you kids please be quiet so I can focus on the traffic”. The kids responded by lowering their voices and playing in a less rowdy fashion. Their father became more agitated and said, “Quiet down NOW!” The children lowered their voices a bit more and continued to giggle and play. Their stressed father then turned around and yelled, “I said BE QUIET!!!, at which point the shocked children stopped talking completely and the mood in the car was incredibly tense.

When I later reflected on this situation I realized that what had happened was a failure to communicate. When my husband used the word “quiet” he meant silent, but our children interpreted it to mean less volume. A very uncomfortable situation was caused by the lack of a common word definition.

COMMON SITUATION
What happened in the car that day is very common when people attempt to communicate. We often think we’re having a meeting of the minds, and later discover there was no connection at all.  How often have you walked away from talking with someone thinking they understood what you said, and then found out s/he had no clue what you were talking about?

 Has this happened to you?  Do you think that because you’re talking you’re communicating?  Are you confident that the message you are hoping to send is being received exactly as you intend?

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