The Difference Between Managing and Leading

As a business owner, you'll often find yourself juggling between managing and leading (especially if you're a team of one). But, they are very different things.

Managing focuses on: tasks, systems, solving immediate problems, and maintaining control.

Leadership focuses on: people, vision, future challenges and opportunities, inspiring trust and empowering others.

Most owners who are struggling to grow find themselves playing the managing role. But, the reality is that even if you're a business of one, you'll need to balance both of these roles in order to grow.

Here's a simple exercise to help you understand where you may need to shift some things around:

1. Conduct a Role Audit: Take inventory of your current activities. Analyze where each activity falls, either in Managing or Leadership. Are you spending time on activities that will move your business forward? Or are you working more on activities that solve a short-term issue?

2. Define your vision as a Leader: Spend 15 minutes reflecting on what you want to achieve as a leader. What is the long-term vision for your business? How do you want to inspire others? What leadership qualities do you want to develop? Make sure you write it down and revisit it to stay aligned.

3. Create a Leadership Action Plan: Pick one leadership-focused activity to incorporate in your week. See where you can delegate management-related tasks.

For You:

Do you lean more toward managing or leading? Share your reflection in the comments along with one leadership-focused action you’ll take this week.

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This is part of the 60 Days of Realignment and Reimagining: A Transformational Journey for Entrepreneurs series. See the full post here.

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