Leadership vs. Management (Part 1)

“I want you to fire two people today.”

One of my former executives (we will call him Sean) had just walked to one of my former peers/fellow sales manager’s desk (let’s call him Mark), pulled him into an office and shut the door. Mark replied, “Sure, who and why?”

Sean replied with, “I don’t care who it is, you choose, but I want two people gone today. I am tired of walking through your area and not seeing enough activity. It’s time to send a message to your group and to those who will remain.”

As I am sure many of you who are reading this have, I have read many books on leadership and management. I have also had many managers in my young career. I consider myself very lucky to be in the position I am in;  at 31 years old, I have held management positions, had as many as 52 people reporting to me and experienced things professionally that not one of my friends can relate to. It’s just business, right? Regardless of my past roles or experience, it doesn’t mean I am a good leader (I like to think I am) but what it does mean is that I have seen a lot of “leadership” in my career thus far. Through it all, if I had to choose one major takeaway it’s this: there is a distinct and obvious difference between a leader and a manager.

Having the title of a manager or boss does not make you a great leader. In fact, I would argue that most “leaders” aren’t good leaders at all – they are good managers. What I find to be ironic is that most companies consider a manager and a leader to be one and the same. And if they don’t, they certainly don’t do a good job of showing otherwise.