Are You Leading or Managing?

"But precisely because an effective leader knows that he, and no one else, is ultimately responsible, he is not afraid of strength in associates and subordinates. Misleaders are afraid; they always go in for purges. But an effective leader wants strong associates; he encourages them, pushes them, indeed glories in them. Because he holds himself ultimately responsible for the mistakes of his associates and subordinates, he also sees the triumphs of his associates and subordinates as his triumphs, rather than as threats.

"The final requirement of effective leadership is to earn trust. Otherwise, there won't be any followers - and the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. To trust a leader, it is not necessary to like him. Nor is it necessary to agree with him. Trust is the conviction that the leader means what he says. It is a belief in something very old-fashioned, called "integrity." A leader's actions and a leader's professed beliefs must be congruent, or at least compatible. Effective leadership - and again this is very old wisdom - is not based on being clever; it is based primarily on being consistent."

We take the trust issue further. Trust generates from being trustworthy. To be trustworthy, you as President must make the tough decisions and those decisions must produce the desired results.

Employees really do WANT to follow. Deep down inside, they don't have the confidence and skill to make the hard decisions. They want, no they need, someone else to do it for them.

They are desperate to follow someone skilled enough to lead the business effectively. That means you, the President, must lead.

That means you must know when to initiate change. You must know how to push change through the business; how to re-enforce change until it becomes business-as-usual.

Note that Drucker advised not to confuse charisma with leadership. History is filled with great leaders who were completely devoid of charisma, personality, or charm. For example, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, and Bill Gates all moved mountains without possessing an ounce of charisma.

Charisma comes in handy when change is being initiated, when a tough hurdle has to be overcome, when everyone is down in the dumps and needing a little pick me up. Alas, charisma is a drug. It is a temporary stimulant. True leadership is lasting. It's the energizer bunny. It just keeps working and working and working.

Like it or not, you ARE responsible for leading your organization, for being a high performing President.  Your business needs to be run by an effective leader, one who knows when to initiate change and when not to.

Have you been leading or managing? Are you now committed to leading?

Take the night and decide what needs to change in your business. Start making the changes the second you walk into the office tomorrow morning. Start acting on this new commitment to be a highly effective President before your old habits push it to the back burner and turn it into another "something I really should be doing but am in no rush to" chore.

Ron Roberts, The Contractor's Business Coach, teaches contractors how to turn their business into a profit spewing machine. To receive Ron's FREE Contractor Best Practices Newsletter visit www.FilthyRichContractor.com.

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