Well hello there and Happy Monday! I’m Monica Wofford and this is your Monday Moment.
We’ve talked in the past about the difference between managing and leading and for years, one of my favorite quotations has been on this very subject.
Stephen Covey said “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall”.
I find there to be a lot of truth in that statement. And I also hear from a number of coaching clients that which role you’re playing at any given moment, can get really confusing.
Think of your job as a bookstore, with all kinds of resources, tools, and options, at your disposal. Sometimes you need to pull from the self-help section. Sometimes it’s how-to’s and at other times it’s cook books when you’re cooking up a new project. You don’t use a cook book though to learn how to change a tire.
The same is true of management and leadership. Management or managing is used when the focus is a thing. Time off, schedules, holiday PTO requests, equipment orders, furniture, documents, etc. Leadership or leading is used when the focus is people. Guiding, development, coaching, discipline, trust building, communication and many others.
Imagine, would you guuuuuiiiiiddddee a broken bookshelf or just fix it? A bookshelf is a thing and a person who sees you coming with the intent of “fixing” them might react in ways that you’re not pleased with. Manage things, lead people and know that you may swap those roles back and forth many and multiple times, daily.
I’m Monica Wofford and let’s keep talking… leadership.
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