Managers Versus Leaders

"There are managers, and then there are leaders." A mentor once said to me after I was promoted into an executive position. "This company has a lot of managers, but there are few leaders, now that you have the title of manager, you need to act like a leader. People are following you."

It's true, in the workforce, there are a lot of managers, but few leaders. The two are not mutually exclusive. It's easy to be a manager, but to be a leader you need to differentiate yourself from the rest. If you find yourself promoted at a young age because you've displayed some talent, here are some tips to make you a better leader:

Take ownership of everything. If your team fails, it's your fault. If a teammate shows up late, it's your fault. If the team doesn't know what to do, you've failed as a leader. This is an extreme mindset but it's a standard you should hold yourself too as a leader. Take ownership of everything your team does. If someone messes up, take responsibility of the failure. These characteristics will set you apart from managers as the ultimate responsibility of the team falls on you.

Be Humble. Nothing worse than having a boss who lets everyone know they are in charge. As a leader, you need to be humble in all of your interactions. If you've been promoted at a young age, there is no doubt that peers will be jealous towards the advancement. Keep chugging along and put the team before self.

Put your ego in check. Similar to being humble, put your ego in check as a young leader. Perhaps you will be in charge of people older than you. They've been in the workplace longer and know more. The easiest way to win over the team is to put your ego in check while attempting to learn from others. Ask the experts for support. Nothing shows leadership than by asking people who have done a job longer, how they've done it. Treat them as equals. Sit down with them to learn what they do. Seek advice and perspective from those who have done it longer.

Get out of the details. Try to avoid getting bogged down in the details of the day-to-day tasks and activities. It's important to maintain awareness of what is occurring on the ground. However, it's not your job to be lost in the details. Always, ask the purpose of individual tasks and activities. But if you want to differentiate yourself as a leader, tie it into the strategic objectives of your organization, project, team, etc.

Be strategic and explain the bigger picture. Standing out as a leader means you have a strategic mind. You understand the bigger picture of your organization and where it is going. You can tie in the most mundane tasks and activities to strategic objectives. Find a way to link what your team is doing to broader goals.

Develop people. As a young leader, the microscope will be on you. Whether you know it or not, peers will be watching you. You have to set the example in everything you do. The best way to do this is to develop the people around you. Be the leader you always wish you wanted. Get to know the people you work with on a personal and professional level. Remember facts about them and ask them about things going on in their life. Take an interest in what they want out of their career. Taking a personal interest in the people you work with will set you apart.

Attributes of a typical manager:

Delegates Tasks Without Explaining the Bigger Picture. Being told to do something without knowing the true purpose will often result in a poor outcome of the task assigned. Managers assign tasks to their team without explaining the bigger picture. They tell the team to do something. The team is confused. "Why are we doing this?" someone says. Managers that assign tasks without explanation is a sign of ego and lack of humility. Sure there are tasks that need to be done on a short timeline without explanation. However, this should not be the norm.

Focuses on Things. A manager will focus on things that need to get done on a project or initiative. They will focus on minute details. Sometimes they will micromanage what the team is doing. They'll fail to focus on how the teams tasks tie into the bigger picture. Managers stay in the weeds, while leaders lift their head up, see the horizon, and point the team towards the end goal.

Follow Rules/Accepts the Status Quo. Managers follow the rules. They don't deviate from the status quo of the organization. They've drank the Koolaid. They've operated under the constraints imposed by those more senior. They pass on those constraints to their team. If a subordinate challenges the status quo or the traditional ways of operating, a manager will push back and question the outside of the box thinking.

Control. Managers like to control what the team is doing. If they are out of the loop, they react and micromanage. They insert themselves into what the team is doing day-to-day. Maybe they don't trust the team to get the job done. Managers like to have a firm grip on everything that is going on in with the team.

Lack of perspective. Some managers have spent their entire career striving for an executive level position. They followed the rules, stayed in their lanes, said yes to whatever task was given to them, pleased senior leadership, and never deviated from the path. More often than not, they may lack life experience and perspective. Managers do not bring an outside in point of view because all they know is the organization.

Doesn't give the team credit. A manager will take credit for his team's work. He will credit them for making him look good but fails to recognize individual team contributions. A manager knows who did the work but let's their ego get in the way of giving the team credit. Managers don't care about you. Let's face it, a lot of managers don't care about your personal or professional well-being. They don't remember facts about you and what you want out of a career. In their eyes, you are just a number. You are there to get a job done and not to question them. A team is intended to punch a number. A manager cares about making their leaders look good and impressing them. They focus on managing up, versus up and down.

Reactive. Managers react to what comes down the chain of command. As soon as they hear something, they let the team know. The team quickly shifts their focus to incorporate the feedback received from the manager. Everyone pivots. The original focus of the day is lost. Turns out the shift in focus hurts the team because the reaction wasn't a big deal after all.

Do you consider yourself a manager or a leader?

Most organizations fail to train young executives on the skills of leadership. Instead, it is a vicious cycle of promoting those that follow the rules and suck up to leadership to get ahead. That doesn't mean you can't be a leader. If you find that your team doesn't seek out your input even though you are in a "leadership" role, chances are, you are considered a manager in their eyes. Recognize that leadership is a learned skill. You also have to earn the trust of your team. Just because you have the title, doesn't mean people will respect you.

Throughout my ten years of post-undergraduate professional work, I can count on one hand the number of leaders I've had. The number of managers is ten-fold. Leaders are rare. If that rare leader walks into your life. Attach yourself to them. Don't let go. Learn as much as you can. Not everyone can be a leader, but everyone can be a manager.