President Ike Eisenhower once demonstrated the difference
between leadership and management to his cabinet by putting a
piece of string in a straight line on the conference table. He
then asked one of the attendees to put his finger on one end of
the string and push it. The string, of course, bunched up in an
ugly bundle. He then asked the man to pull the string with his
finger on one end. The string straightened up in a nice neat
line and followed the finger across the table. ?This?, said Ike
?is the difference between managing and leading.?
I love this visual example and use it often. Managing people is
often pushing them to do what you want them to do. People resist
being pushed and if you manage this way you usually end up with
a chaotic organization. Leadership, on the other hand, is
pulling people with you. When you pull people they usually
follow and following the leader is what we really want out of
our team.
How do you get people to follow you rather than resist? The two
words that will help you the most are Honesty and Integrity.
Have a clear vision of where the company is going. As corny as
it sometimes sounds, a good, clear and well communicated mission
statement wouldn?t hurt either. Encourage your staff to set
career and personal goals. Let them know when you are proud of
them. Be interested in how your team thinks things can improve
and let them express those ideas.
About the author:
Mike Shannon is the owner of Shamrock Business Coaching, a
professional coaching practice that helps owners of small and
medium sized businesses increase their profits. You can visit
Shamrock Business Coaching on the web at:
http://www.shamrockcoaching.com
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