Leader vs. Manager

If you Google 'what is a leader' you will get around 3 million results. Everyone has their opinion. But there is one distinction that matters more than all of them — and it will define everything else in this program.

Management is a concept we are all familiar with. There is not a person in the world who has worked who does not have a horrible manager story. Managers clock your time, they focus on the job over the individuals, and they are often focused on only the bottom line.

A leader makes a different decision. A leader focuses on the employee first — because they understand that a staff who has been set up for success and feels supported will always meet and exceed that bottom line. Building a strong company foundation begins with whether you have a team full of leaders or managers.

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A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.

Here is the practical difference. Ask yourself: Do your leaders focus on the growth of your people? Are they willing to be challenged and grow themselves? Or do you have managers that hit minimum numbers but have high turnover, refuse to listen to ideas, and never develop their staff?

Here is what is at stake: high turnover is almost always a sign of management, not leadership. People do not leave jobs — they leave managers. When a team consistently underperforms or loses good people, the first place to look is at who is leading them and how.