Leadership vs. Management. What's the difference?

Part 1 of a 3 part series on Leadership for Cleaning Business Owners

We hear the terms leadership and management often used together or in the same context. The truth is, they are very different.  To be an effective manager, you must understand what it takes to be a good leader. To do that, let's break down the meaning of both terms and how they are used in today's business environment.

It can be stated very simply: a leader manages people and a manager manages tasks. Here is another simple statement; a leader does the right thing while a manager does things right.
 
The Characteristics of a strong Manager in today's workplace:  a “good manager” will usually be task oriented. Someone who knows what needs to be done and coordinates the process of getting tasks completed on a timely basis.  This is the person who has subordinates and has power over others. As a business owner, good management skills would be necessary for company operations.  Managers can be either the owner or a designated employee who has demonstrated managerial skills.

An interesting bit of information about “manager” personalities is that they tend to come from stable home backgrounds and lead relatively normal and comfortable lives. They usually like to avoid risk and are most often rule followers.   They are not usually creative in thought and spirit and probably didn't “color outside the lines” when they were children.

Leadership Characteristics by contrast are very different. Leaders do not have subordinates while they are leading. Often times leader will have subordinates but only because they are managers also.
When they want to lead, they will have to give up formal control over people because leaders have followers not subordinates.  Telling people what to do does not inspire them to follow you!

Leaders are good with people but that does not always mean they are friendly with them.  In fact, most strong leaders retain a degree of separation and aloofness from the rest of the people in their company.
Leaders can pay attention to tasks, but getting those tasks completed will fall on the shoulders of the manager.

Leaders are focused on vision and change while managers are task oriented and concentrate on getting things done.

So what happens when you are a small business owner and have to be the leader and the manager at the same time? This becomes the challenge.  First is to identify your strength.  Is it the visionary? Or are you better at getting tasks done and like to leave the planning to someone else?  For a successful business, you have to have both qualities working together.  You must have the ability to manage the everyday tasks and deliver results while at the same time seeing the opportunity for change and new challenges to grow your business.  In other words, the big picture.

Once you have identified your strength whether it is task driven or idea driven, you will want to determine how you will get help with the weaker of the two. If you have little patience for the tasks such as handling crisis, customer complaints, ordering supplies, scheduling for people who must be out, training and other employee issues, then your organizational plan for employees should include a manager. This does not have to be a full time person, but is someone who can remove these tasks from your list of duties.  This will free your valuable time for planning marketing, visionary development, forecasting sales, developing relationships in the community, prospecting for new business.

Most entrepreneurs enjoy the visionary, leadership role more than the managerial role. Demonstrating good leadership skills without the managerial support to get it done will leave the business owner without the opportunity to put those visions into play.  Likewise, being a good manager without strong direction and leadership vision will cause stagnation in your business and de-motivate your employees.

Finding the happy combination of a strong leader and a skilled manager takes daily review of your vision, delegation, staffing, and processes. Having goals in place and an action plan for achievement will help toward reaching that blend of both attributes.  Remember, there is an abundance of managers in our industry, but embracing the qualities of a leader will move your business forward.

Sharon L. Cowan is the former CEO of a multimillion dollar regional commercial and residential cleaning company. A 25 year veteran of the industry, Sharon is a popular speaker and workshop leader. She has been a guest speaker and seminar leader for BSCAI and ARCSI and a two time award winner from the BSCAI. Sharon holds workshops throughout the country for cleaning business owners. She is a designated Industry Expert for The Janitorial Store and has written industry eBooks and white papers. Sharon conducts seminars for Jon Don Stores, is on staff at Indian River State College and a Board member for Cleaning For A Reason. Sharon can be reached at 772-563-7320 or www.cleaningbusinessconsultinggroup.com  Email: Sharon@cleaningbusinessconsultinggroup

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