I heard an interview on National Public Radio with an international recruiter who commented that everyone can be a manager, but few are leaders.
Many assume themselves to be leaders because they have management authority. “Doesn’t my position as someone with people reporting to me make me a leader of people?”
I agree with that recruiter. My experience is that a majority of people with management responsibilities are not leaders. Early in my career, I was one of those who mistakenly thought of myself as a leader just because I had a staff. I didn’t get what true leadership was all about.
This is one reason why “manage” has become a verb to avoid on resumes. It’s a weak term, suggesting administrative duties rather than anything truly inspiring or deserving of wide recognition.
And frankly, being a leader doesn’t require having a staff. My most influential leadership role was in a volunteer capacity, leading a broad coalition of townspeople in securing passage of a multi-million dollar school facilities referendum. (And one of our strongest supporters and former Mayor admitted to me the night we passed by a 50% margin, that at the outset he never thought we had a prayer of getting our town to vote to raise their taxes!)
Leadership Challenge:
So my challenge to you is to sit down and honestly answer these 2 questions:
1. Are you a leader or a manager?
2. Are you RECOGNIZED as a leader?
If you don’t believe you both are AND ARE RECOGNIZED AS a leader, what can you do to change that?
I do not think I am a leader or manager and have never been recognized as either. Sounds like sour grapes, doesn’t it. But I think I do inspire some people.
Inspiration is a key sign of leadership!
John, it is so true that not everyone is a leader. In my career I worked with individuals with titles but when it came down to it they did not lead a team. I’ve also seen individuals not in management teams lead individuals.
That last point is often overlooked. Sometimes the best leaders are those who don’t have any management responsibility, but who simply inspire others.