Manager ≠ Leader

Leaders rarely manage and managers rarely lead despite the fact that the terms manager and leader are often used interchangeably.

Manager

Managers typically:

• Direct the efforts of those whom they manage.
• Take on the heavy mantle of providing solutions to all of the problems their staff faces.
• Frequently follow up to make sure that staff members are performing to expectation.
• Dismiss staff members’ ideas in favor of their own.

Let’s contrast that with a leader’s style.

Leader

Leaders typically:

• With their staff’s input, establish goals, then allow staff members to their own devices to meet these goals.
• Realize that they don’t have all of the answers; consequently they involve staff members in finding solutions.
• Trust that staff members will perform to, if not exceed, expectations…without supervision.
• Welcome ideas for improvement…regardless of the source.

What are the implications of these differences on the employee’s experience and employee attraction and retention?

Employees’ experience

Given the typical managerial modus operandi, employees:

• Learn to follow instructions, knowing that failing to do so has unwanted consequences.
• Are encouraged to seeking solutions from the boss rather than crafting their own solutions.
• Understand that they aren’t trusted to perform their jobs well on their own.
• Learn to stifle their creativity and just do their job.

Conversely, employees working under a leader are:

• Encouraged to be creative.
• Encouraged to use whatever methodology that works well for them.
• Trusted to make good decisions and perform according to expectations…expectations that they helped establish.
• Encouraged and trusted to find their own solutions to the problems they face.

Attraction and Retention

It’s easy to see how much easier it is for a leader to attract and retain creative, top talent than it is for a manager. Numerous studies on employee retention have shown that the top reason why employees leave is their manager.

Years ago, the consulting firm, McKinsey and Company, did a study entitled The War for Talent in which they found that an “A” employee costs approximately 20% more than a “B” employee. Yet “A” employees often produce 2-3 times what a “B” player does. That’s a huge ROI on the additional compensation needed to attract an “A” player.

Having said that, employees of Fortune’s annual Top 100 companies to work for consistently say that the reasons the like the company they work for are:

• Autonomy
• Opportunities to learn and grow personally and professionally.
• Being part of something bigger than themselves.
• Recognition for their accomplishments.

Money does not typically make the list.

Takeaways

If you want to dramatically:

• Improve the profitability and value of your business.
• Attract and retain more “A” players.
• Gain an insurmountable competitive advantage over your competitors.

and develop potential buyers for your business when you choose to leave, develop your existing mangers into leaders. The payoff is huge both while you own the business and when you choose to leave.

The following resources will help you gain the benefits outlined above.

Resources

Making the EXCEPTIONAL Normal program helps you identify and nurture emerging leaders who elevate all around them to higher levels of performance and greater job enjoyment.

Financial Awareness & Strategy program where employees learn to identify opportunities to improve financial results and prioritize these opportunities on the basis of which produces the greatest impact with the least effort. Greater financial awareness = Better decisions.