Lead people, manage things

Four simple words — yet what a concept.
I recall first hearing those four words together.
It was during a session at the Poynter Institute in Florida.
Flying home, those four words kept replaying in my mind.
I knew then that I had to write a book on leadership.
There’s a distinction between leadership and management.
Both are necessary for any team with a common mission.
Good leaders lead by example. They are role models.
They convey a vision, a mission and a purpose.
They teach, coach and inspire others to greater achievement.
They instinctively know what to do when stuff hits the fan.
Managers work on the specifics. They check the numbers.
They make sure things go smoothly and as projected.
The good ones manage things. They don’t manage people.
No one, but no one, wants to be managed.
Leaders spell out what to do. Managers get it done.
Leaders get the right players in the right seats on the bus.
That’s Jim Collins’ analogy in "Good to Great".
Managers count heads and watch the road for hazards.
As the late Peter Drucker observed:
Management is doing things right.
Leadership is doing the right things.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about Alexander the Great’s example.
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