Brian Tracy distinguishes leaders from managers: leaders inspire people around a vision, managers complete projects and hit goals. Great leaders have vision, courage, integrity, and humility. Both roles require clear communication, admitting mistakes, and leading by example.
Hello, I'm Brian Tracy and today I want to talk to you about the difference between being a leader versus being a manager. Are you a leader or a manager or are you both? In my experience, I've seen great leaders who aren't the best managers, great managers who aren't the best leaders, people who have seemed to master both and everything in between. Between you and me. Leaders and managers require different skill sets to succeed in the job they're meant to do. While some skills do overlap and the jobs are similar, they are also very different. Today I want to explain the differences in the characteristics of what makes a leader versus a manager, why it's important to be a leader if you want to be a good manager, and how to become skilled in both leading and managing. This is the key to making yourself an extremely valuable and important person in your business. So let's start by defining what is a leader. A leader is someone who guides a group of people or an organization to a desired goal or result or higher level in the workplace. Leaders are often people in C level positions like CEO, which is the person in charge of everything, chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, who lead the company toward its goals. It's not guaranteed, however, that every person in a leadership position is a great leader. In order to be a great leader, instead of just having the title of one, you must sharpen your skills to motivate people, to inspire them to achieve great things and support them in their efforts. Great leaders find the balance between business foresight, performance and character. They have vision, courage, integrity, humility and focus, along with the ability to plan strategically and catalyze cooperation among their team. A leader's main focus is on the people they're working with and how they can get those people to achieve a goal for the greater good. They think about how others feel and how they can help others grow and accomplish new things, and how they can accomplish a task together in a positive way. Now let's take a look at what a manager is and how it differs from being a leader. While a manager can be a leader and leaders can be managers, the two are not synonymous. The job of the manager is to simply ensure projects or jobs get done and help keep the pace. Think of it like this. A manager focuses on the completion of a goal, while leaders focus on how the goal gets done and who is involved in that process. Managers focus on the business goals. Their primary concern isn't necessarily about the people involved in the project, it's about the project itself. Essentially, managers have people who work for them whereas leaders have people who follow them. With that said, you can be both a manager and a leader. The best managers are also good leaders and have a focus both on the project and on the team working on it. Entrepreneurs and small businesses business owners often have to be skilled at leadership as well as management. How do you become a good leader and a good manager? Well, when you are both a great leader and a great manager, you are able to give your team, company or business a competitive advantage. To be both a great leader and a great manager, you must first know who how to communicate well. Always take feelings into consideration. There's a person behind every project and business after all, so make sure that you listen and explain your decisions and conclusions or methodology clearly. Great leaders also know when to admit that they're wrong and give credit where credit is due. You don't want to be that manager that takes full credit for the work of the team simply because you're leading the ship to shore. Another characteristic of a good leader and manager is to stay honest and open. If something isn't working, say it, and if something is working, acknowledge that too. Transparency will take you far as a leader and as a manager. In order to be successful as a leader and manager, you must also embrace teamwork. You may be the manager, but there are others working to get your project accomplished. While you're heading up the project, the people below you are just as critical in the success. So help when needed and don't be afraid to get in the weeds with other people to get the job done. Remember this great leaders lead by example. One of the most important things of all is to lead by example. Don't expect something from others that you wouldn't do yourself as a manager. Show your team how to be successful by demonstrating what you want them to emulate. With the right mindset, practice and training, you can become a great leader and a successful manager. Every great achievement, like leadership, begins with a goal. Get started now on improving your leadership or management skills by downloading my free Smart Smart Goals template. I want to help you get on the fast track to success now. I'd love to hear from you. So my question today is which characteristic of a good leader or manager are you going to focus on improving over the next seven days? Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to follow up with you. Thanks for watching. And remember, if you want to change your future, take action and take action now. If you enjoyed this video and feel it was valuable in teaching you about being a leader versus being a manager, subscribe to my channel like this video and share this video with your friends. Don't forget to click the button on the screen for a free gift. Thanks again for watching.
