While every organization needs both, there is a profound difference between managers and leaders. The Colonel was adamant about that difference. Dad said, “A manager will give you something to work on. A leader will give you something to work toward.”
I believe he was correct in that assessment. I have met and worked with many managers who are not leaders in any way. A manager can tell someone what to do, when to do it, and even how to do it. It takes a leader to inspire them to want to do it. Managers focus on production and numbers. Leaders focus on human development, growth, and relationships.
A team can be committed to the organization, getting along well, and doing great work, but if they aren’t moving toward a shared vision, they are not as effective as they could be. Like players on a football team, every member of your team has a specific job to do. On a football team, some may be rushing, some may be blocking, some may be tackling, etc., but they all have a common vision, a common objective—and that is to get the ball into the end zone and score (or prevent the other team from doing so). Without that common objective to work toward, their individual skills would result in nothing more than just a bunch of athletes being physically aggressive with each other on a grassy field.
One of the primary jobs of leadership is providing a vision for where the team is going and what it’s going to look like when they get there. Each member of your team needs to know both the individual parts they play (the “what are you working on?”) and how they will share the benefit at the end (the “what are we all working toward?”). Tell them how it’s going to feel when we achieve “X” together. When you focus on that common goal, the team will grab that vision and start running toward it.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.