Leadership isn't Management

by Rick White, President 180BIZ                                                             (Estimated Read Time 3 minutes)

This episode is about leadership. Not what leadership is, it’s about what leadership isn’t.  Leading is not managing. There's a great old saying that says, “When I speak with a manager, it feels like they are important. When I speak with a leader, it feels like I'm important.” Did you hear the difference? Managing is about order and results, whereas leading is about change and growth. Growth of your team, growth of the business, the endeavor setting division.

Leading is not about being great!

They're similar, but leading is not managing, leading is not about being great. It's not about you being great as a leader. It's about getting your team great. It's about making them great. It's about finding their individual strengths and helping them to see them as well. It's about the team.

Leading is not about controlling!

Leading is not controlling. With managing, sometimes we need to put our foot down. We need to take control of some things and some flows. That makes sense. But leading is about coaching and guiding and mentoring. Leadership is about setting a direction, It’s about creating a mission and a purpose. It’s about doing something beyond just fixed cars, beyond the concept of making money. Leading isn't about winning. Leading is about the crusade. It's about having something bigger than you.

Leading is not about you!

The other thing that I want to talk about is that leading is not about you. It's about your team. It's about the crusade. I truly believe in servant leadership where we are there to help our team, to nurture our team, to grow our team so that we can provide the best service and counsel to our clients. That's what I believe leadership is about. Some of you may feel like you don't have time to be a leader. It's too busy. You’re shorthanded. Being a leader in your shop doesn't mean that you have to be the leader all day long, but you better stick your toes in the water every single day. You must stick your toes into the leadership role every single day so that you remember where you're going. You remember why you're doing this. You remember why you are getting up and fighting the good fight.

Leading is not managing!

People will not remember you fixing their car. People will remember the impact you had on them and the connection that you had with them. Having somebody years from now say, “Wow, I remember working with [Chad] and he made a difference in my life. That's the juice. Stick your head up out of the trench that you're digging every single day and make sure you're headed the right way. That's what this is about.

Leading is not about having all the answers!

Leadership isn't about having all the answers. That's not being a leader. That's being a know-it-all. When you are a know-it-all, you're very off-putting. Great leaders are all about asking the best questions because leadership is creating a collaborative environment where your team comes up with the answers. It's brilliant when you do this because you will get that buy-in as a byproduct. You don't have to push 'em because they came up with it.

Are you showing up as a manager or a leader?

Think about how you are showing up. Are you showing up as a manager or are you showing up as a leader? Don't confuse the two.

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If you know of a shop owner who needs help, we do the Shop Owner's Round Table on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM Eastern. We just had a great one. There were at least 45 shops there and it was a good conversation.

If you want to get in on this next webinar which's going to be a deep dive into the foundation of successful leadership, join our Pocket Business Genius webinar series. 

God bless. Stay safe, have some fun, and go make some money.

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