excellence.
LEADERSHIP VS MANAGEMENT
Stop Training The
‘Manager’, And Start
Developing The Leader!
By Jim Bouchard
I
f you have the word manager in your
title, be patient with me. In a few
minutes I’ll either validate that you’re
more of a leader than a manager, or you’ll
agree that any manager is much more
effective when they are a strong leader.
Or––you might be terribly offended. If so,
please look in the mirror. It’s likely that
you’re the “manager” I’m talking about.
The “manager” is a functionary. This
“manager” I speak of with so much
contempt is a paper-pusher, a filler-outer
of time sheets, a scheduler. The “manager”
treats people like machines––each one a
replaceable part.
Warren G. Bennis, one of the pioneers of
modern leadership study, summed up the
differences between the “manager” and
the Leader quite nicely…
"The manager administers; the leader
innovates. The manager has a short-
range view; the leader has a long-range
perspective. The manager asks how and
when; the leader asks what and why. The
manager has his eye on the bottom line;
the leader has his eye on the horizon. The
manager accepts the status quo; the leader
challenges it.”
If all that’s required is to make sure
a schedule is filled with low skilled
interchangeable employees to produce
a minimum expected output––the
“manager” might just be who you’re
looking for. If you want more, you’d better
start developing leaders––at all levels.
This is not just another one of those
attempts at word-play we too often see
in business and leadership. There is a real,
substantive difference between who I’m
calling the “manager” and the authentic
leader.
Some time ago there was a big movement
to stop calling people managers.
Organizations turned office managers into
administrative coordinators. Customer
service managers become directors of
customer experience. Branch managers
I’m not an advocate of semantic tricks.
The “manager” is measured by meet-
ing expectations. The leader is defined
by exceeding them. No clever title will
ever change that. Better to keep the
word manager in the title and make
sure your managers are also leaders.
64 MAL29/19 ISSUE
are elevated to vice-presidents, which can
sound impressive––until you realize that
a company has 3 or 4 thousand of them.
And of course all of us have met a clerk
at the Apple store who is anything but a
“genius.”
I’m not an advocate of semantic tricks.
The “manager” is measured by meeting
expectations. The leader is defined by
exceeding them. No clever title will ever
change that. Better to keep the word
manager in the title and make sure your
managers are also leaders.
We dive deeply into the substantive
differences between the “manager” and the
Leader in The SENSEI Leader Program.
Here are the three most important:
The “manager” motivates––or at least
tries to………The Leader INSPIRES;
The
“manager”
delegates………The
Leader EMPOWERS; The “manager”
drives………The Leader GUIDES.
Let’s start with those… Motivation
seems to be a big concern these days.
Forget about it! Motivate simply means
to provide someone with a cause or a
reason to act. As I said, any “manager”
can do that. You can do it with a carrot
at the end of a stick. You can also do it
through threats of punishment or denial
or through fear, force and coercion.
To inspire means to fill someone with
an animating, compelling feeling. You
inspire by creating a deeply meaningful
and emotional call to action. That’s what
a genuine Leader does––and that’s how
you lead a team or an organization to
Any “manager” can delegate. That’s not
hard––and it’s very often done badly.
Empowering
requires
a
deep
understanding of the people you serve
as a leader. It requires a knowledge not
only of their skills, but of their potential.
That’s how the Leader connects people
with the opportunities for training and
development that challenge and engage
the individual and expand the innovative
capability and productivity of the
organization.
It also requires courage and self-
confidence––balanced always by humility.
You train people to be your equal, or even
better––to surpass you in some way. You
share power, authority, responsibility––
and credit.
The Leader knows that true power is the
ability to get things done and that your
power as a Leader increases by making
others more powerful. And you do that by
guiding––not by driving…
People follow examples much more
The “manager” is a functionary. This “man-
ager” I speak of with so much contempt is
a paper-pusher, a filler-outer of time sheets,
a scheduler. The “manager” treats people
like machines––each one a replaceable part.
enthusiastically than they do orders.
The best way to guide, and the most
inspirational way, is to walk the walk.
Model the behavior you expect in others
and they will follow.
Rather than commanding them––mentor
them. Teach, coach, encourage and guide.
Make your people better and they will
make your organization better. And of
course––that makes you a much better
Leader!
There are plenty of other important
differences between the “manager” and the
Leader––and particularly The SENSEI
Leader. My program is rooted in the deep
traditions of the Sensei––the teacher who
Inspires, Empowers and Guides students
to their highest levels of performance and
in so doing, earns their Respect, Trust and
Loyalty––the three most essential assets
for effective leadership.
That’s what you become when you
embrace this philosophy and practice. Be
the Leader who Inspires, Empowers and
Guides people to their very best.
Be The SENSEI Leader!
By Jim Bouchard is a leadership
coach, and author. His book, The
Sensei Leaders, is available in
the local market now. You can
commune with him via mail at:
[email protected].