Are You Managing Or Leading Your Business?
“Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.”
– Peter Drucker, management consultant
There are important differences between the roles of manager and leader. As a small business owner, you can wear both hats – as long as you don’t allow your day-to-day responsibilities make you lose sight of your vision.
An awareness of the differences and similarities between the roles will help you combine them more effectively and inform your decisions on planning your working hours.
5 Key Differences Between Managing and Leading
- Managers pay attention to details; leaders look at the big picture
- Managers direct people; leaders inspire people
- Managers focus on the present; leaders focus on the future
- Managers develop policies; leaders develop strategies
- Managers support the business culture; leaders define the business culture
5 Shared Characteristics Between Managers and Leaders
- Strong communications skills
- Positive mindset
- Confidence
- Empathy
- Commitment
Decide When to Lead and When to Manage
It’s important to recognize you can’t perform both roles well simultaneously: You have to consciously set aside times for planning and other times for doing. It naturally follows that you don’t want to invest time in doing if you haven’t first figured out why those activities are worth doing. Build your vision, then execute to achieve it.
If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:
