Lead People, Don’t Manage Them

Tuesday, 01. 26. 2010  –  Category: Ranger Wireless Solutions

Why do we use the word manager?  It does not seem to identify well what a person is meant to do when given a team of individuals to work with.  A manager controls, handles and directs.  That sounds pretty hard when what we are referring to being managed is people.  The word “manager” is great when referring to the management of processes, procedures, technique, communications, relationships, etc.  When referring to an individual who is made accountable for a group of people, the word “leader” seems more appropriate.  People do not like to be managed, they would rather be led: given goals to achieve, techniques to learn from and follow, and review to let them know how they are doing.

Leading by example is a great way to start.  Why would anyone follow procedure if their leader does not?  If you want your team to say something during the ordering process then you too should be saying it every time!  If you want your team to take a specific action while performing a task, then you should be taking that same action every time. You cannot just tell your team what to do if you want them to continue to do it even when you are not watching.  You have to show them that it needs to be done, even if you have to do it yourself.  Your team will take notice and they will respect you for expecting no less from yourself than you expect from them.  They will then have no reason not to do what you are asking, no excuses.

In a chapter of the The Drucker Foundation’s book Leader To Leader called “Good Bye, Command and Control”, they write, “Most of us were raised in a culture that told us that the way to manage for excellence was to tell people exactly what they had to do and then make sure they did it.  We learned to play master designer, assuming we could engineer people into perfect performance.  But you can’t direct people into perfection; you can only engage them enough so that they want to do perfect work.¹”

Enthusiasm is imperative in the leadership role.  If you do the task with enthusiasm, they will too.  If you are not enthusiastic about what you are doing, do not bother anymore.  It takes enthusiasm to do it well.  It is also contagious.  If the leader is enthusiastic, the team will be too, resulting in a group of people who do their job well because they are excited to do it and do it better.  When your team has enthusiasm about their role in the company, they will also be less likely to complain about their job or call in sick.  What is to complain about when they are excited to do their job?

Many assume that the title manager means that they are now “in charge”.  That is true to an extent.  However, sometimes what is missed is that the title really comes with the responsibility to lead their team to be better; not just be accountable for it when it doesn’t meet expectations of upper management.  When a person is given the title of manager, they should keep in mind that they have been given the authority to manage processes and procedures.  They have also been given the opportunity to lead a team of people to do something better than they ever did before!

¹The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management.  Leader To Leader.  Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint.  1999.

Katie Petre works for RANGER Wireless Solutions, a CornerWorld company.

Tags: Katie Petre, leadership, management