How often have you seen ineffective leaders in senior-level positions? Likewise, how often have we seen a manager that demonstrates exemplary leadership skills? A question many of us probably don’t ask ourselves enough is: what is the difference between management and leadership? Without careful consideration, many of us would probably question if there were a difference.

Leaders guide a group of individuals towards the common good of all. They know how to listen to different perspectives and quickly and creatively problem solve, which leads to results benefiting the entire team. On the other hand, a manager focuses more on their individual contribution and how to simply get the task done. Their focus is more on winning, no matter who gets burned along the way. The leader’s motivation is “we,” and the motivation for the manager is “me.” If the manager is passionately in line with the business’s strategic vision and emotionally aligned with team members, the finite difference between a leader and manager dissipates. However, once there is misalignment, a manager can take your people off course and create a confusing and frustrating business culture.

In multi-unit franchisee organizations, we often see people in roles that do not match their strengths. Or we see people with a raw skill set who require coaching and leadership development to fulfill their potential. As a result, frustration acts as a dark cloud around the team because the employee is frustrated, or the team feels stuck in not knowing how to reposition people to facilitate better outcomes. Good people either leave the business out of dissatisfaction, are demoted, or even potentially terminated because they aren’t fulfilling expectations. Ultimately, these issues impact organizational morale, increase turnover, and negatively impact corporate culture and performance. Generally, people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses and/or cultures.

High-performance business cultures are built one person, one decision, and one leader at a time. Unfortunately, one manager or leader out of alignment can throw your team out of whack. The good news is that you can quickly reposition your organization by evaluating your people, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and creating action plans towards the culture you want.

Contact Us and we can help you with insights, and other resources, and see if it makes sense to work together. At the very least, in 30 minutes, you may get some ideas you can apply to your business right away.

The article was originally published on the Franchising.com website: Why it’s Important to Distinguish Between Leadership & Management

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