#73 - Are you a Leader or Manager? The answer may surprise you.

So today, I saw an interesting article that came in my email box. And of course, all of us are flooded with emails. This one stood out because it talked about the difference between a manager and a leader. And I'm telling you, it's easy to say, "Oh yeah, I'm a manager at this company. I have 20 people that I manage." However, in reality, we don't manage any person or people at all.

We can manage processes and procedures and systems, but we don't manage people, at least not to the extent that they will let us manage them. It's kind of like leading a horse to water, but you can't force them to drink in this particular instance. When I talk about managing, I am really talking about managing systems, processes, and procedures.

And when I'm talking about leading, I use the definition of leadership that John Maxwell uses, which is a great definition, very simple and succinct, easy to remember. John says, "Leadership is influence nothing more, nothing less."

You can influence people. Therefore you lead people, you influence people. You manage things which are systems, processes, or procedures, and you lead people. Two very distinct differences and yet critical for a great leader, a strong leader, an effective leader, to be able to know the difference between the two and know when they're managing and when they're leading people. That influence for leadership makes all the difference.