The Difference between Managing and Leading

Why are the first job titles in the management chain usually called "team leaders", but then quickly change into "managers" and then "directors"?

If we think in terms of stewards, shepherds, tour guides -- pick a metaphor that works for you -- you have an active, engaged person who is charting or scouting ahead in order to bring their team forward.

Managers by comparison walk perimeters, to check on fencing and boundaries. They often describe their job as "herding cats".

Directors normally don't walk anywhere -- they are far removed from the teams they are charged with leading, often focused on their own fiefdoms and concerned with the activities of rival princes.

In typical, silo (or stovepipe, again, pick the metaphor you like the best) -- the information flows upward, filtered at every level -- distilled if you will, by someone who is presenting (or word-smithing) the information in a way that they think (or hope) the next level up wants to hear.

Time for some humor to illustrate the point, and lets reach back and pull a classic management telephone-game style joke:

The Plan.
In the beginning, there was the Plan. And then came the Assumptions. And the Assumptions were without form, And the Plan was without substance. And darkness was upon the face of the Workers. And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock of shit and it stinketh."
And the Workers went into their Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of dung and none may abide the odor thereof." And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."
And the Managers went unto their Directors, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer and none may abide it's strength." And the Directors spoke amongst themselves, saying one to another, "It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong."
And the Directors went unto the Vice President, saying, "It promotes growth and it is very powerful." And the Vice Presidents went unto the President, saying, "This new Plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company with powerful effects."
And the President looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good. And the Plan became Policy. This is how Shit Happens.

Sound like a project or two or ten that you've worked on recently? They all have secret code names, usually named after wild-life

How is it that projects that are doomed to fail, and everyone knows it, continue to get funded and proceed in a death march towards oblivion? The kind of projects that sap financial resources from companies, stealing shareholder value, and wasting time which translates to lost opportunity.

I would argue it comes down to the fact that the "management chain" isn't about leading at all. A leader would stand up and pull the chain and stop the factory -- it's that whole "you can't inspect quality into a product" mantra.

Today's Big Idea: People follow the leaders. Stop managing and start leading.

Start by Walking Around....

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