Three conversations yesterday in 3 different cities reminded me of the essential differences between managers and leaders.
Managers are people who see their role as finding new ways of saying no. No to new demands, expectations, and requests. They see themselves as protectors, resucuers, and heroes working overtime keeping themselves and their people from failure. Their definition of success is the lack of failure.
Leaders are people who see their role as finding new ways of saying yes. Yes to new opportunities, dreams, passions, and possibilities. They see themselves as facilitators, making it easier for people to have the permission, support, and capacity to make a difference Their definition of success is abundance of innovation.
In a world of authentic trust, we don't expect managers to perform as leaders, we may invite them to do so but only expect leadership from people willing to be leaders. It all raises the question of how many managers and how many leaders do organizations and communities need when they're striving for a different future?
