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You can manage a process, you can’t manage people

A big mistake that many new managers (and some experienced ones!) make is to think that the group of people that they are now in charge of need to be managed. I’ve got news - a manager is in charge of the processes and actions that their people will be executing. A Leader is out in front, guiding their people in the right direction to accomplish the group’s goals.

In his book, The 360 Degree Leader, John Maxwell studies the importance of Leadership on the quality of management - no matter what level in the corporate hierarchy that you fill. “Lead Up Principle #4” describes just what leadership is:

• People more than Projects
• Movement more than Maintenance
• Art more than Science
• Intuition more than Formula
• Vision more than Procedure
• Risk more than Caution
• Action more than Reaction
• Relationships more than Rules
• Who you are more than what you do

As you can see from this list, leadership deals with concepts that are much more abstract than simple management. A manager uses rules, policies, and formulas to keep the “production line” moving, cranking out those widgets. These are the concrete aspects of a manager’s function, as opposed to the abstract types of thinking and behavior that create true leadership.

Leaders do what managers don’t

1. Leaders plan for the future - Also called Long-Term Thinking, a Leader needs to be able to see beyond today’s widgets. Making sure that the team is not only doing things right, but doing the right things for tomorrow and beyond is the responsibility of a Leader.
2. Leaders see the Big Picture - A team within an organization is just one part that contributes to overall success. Like a machine, every part is needed for efficient operation, and the Leader will think and act based on how their team fits within the larger context.
3. Leaders push the envelope - In the quest to find “a better way” a Leader will have the courage to color outside the lines. The rules are there for a reason, managers are told, Leaders will question the reason, “Is it still appropriate?“
4. Leaders accentuate the intangibles - Remember the list in the quote above? You can’t really plug a relationship with a team-mate into a graph to show the board of directors. Leaders will have confidence in expressing and describing the intangible factors that lead to success.
5. Leaders learn to trust their hunches - Intuition is a skill like anyother, that can be improved over time. The more you learn to focus your attention on the intangibles, such as principles rather than processes, the more perceptive your intuition will become.
6. Leaders give their power away - If you want something done right, I have always found that the best way is not to do it yourself; no, train someone how to do it - and put them in charge of it. Make them responsible and create trust. Truly empowered team members can create remarkable successes.
7. Leaders are agents of change - Managers are there to implement the changes that Leaders create. One of the basic qualities of a Leader is a desire for innovation, for making progress happen.

People can not be managed, they have hopes and dreams, they have problems at home. There is almost nothing a manager can do to make people work like machines. People prefer to be led, to have an example to work towards, an inspiration to perform. When a Leader has the skills and understanding mentioned above, they can take their team to a much higher level.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6rlesa. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen