Are You a Manager or a Leader?

A leader is simply someone who leads.
A manager controls. A leader leads.
It has been my experience that the companies that make
a dent in the universe are the ones that are led not
controlled by people.
Are you a manager or a leader? Here are four simple
ways to find out:
Related: Managers Can Be True Leaders Not Just
Taskmasters
1. Being open to new ideas.
I will admit that there have been times in my career
when I have actually caught myself saying, "That's the
way it's always been done" to someone. When I do, I
know I am trying to control not lead.
When employees or customers challenge the status quo
of the way your organization does things, this is an
opportune time to let them lead.
Your employees and customers have great ideas, ones
that can make your company better. Instead of always
saying or thinking, "We do it this way because that's the
way we've always done it," challenge yourself to stop
controlling the situation and let someone else have a
stab at making the company better.
2. Viewing the competiton to learn from it.
"Our competitors are awful," a manager might say. If
you're thinking or saying that the competitors are awful,
you're a manager. Managers like to control things and
one thing they can't control in business is the
competition.
A leader, on the other hand sees that competition can
make a company stronger. Leaders pay attention to
what the competition is doing right and what rivals are
doing wrong, so that they can learn new and better ways
to build their own business.
Leaders realize that the competition is not awful. It's just
different. When explaining their company's value
proposition, leaders can eloquently detail how the
competition's value proposition differs from their own,
without saying anything negative about the other
company.
Related: A Rigid Mind Blocks Success. Try These 5
Strategies for Fearless Leadership.
3. Embracing the input of staff.
Managers don't ask others for their opinion because by
doing so, control is lost. Leaders love using technology
like the online-polling tool Survey Monkey so they can
poll team members for ideas and advice about
everything.
I learned this the hard way. I used to control and
manage everything in my business from the planning of
events to the training and marketing. When you start to
see low attendance at your events and training or find
that few are embracing your new ideas, it's time to start
asking for help.
I survey members of my team about everything,
including what training to offer, how the marketing
should look and when and where to host events. By
doing this, I get a consensus about what's important to
them.
When people are engaged in the decision-making
process, they are more likely to embrace whatever
organizational endeavors the leader is working on. Even
if you have some staffers who don't agree with the final
decision, they appreciate having been asked their
opinion, which means they're more likely to embrace the
initiative even if they don't agree with it.
4. Not needing the final word.
Managers like control and one of the ways they retain it
is by analyzing most decision-making processes with an
assumption that they are right most of the time.
Leaders approach things from a different viewpoint, one
in which the assumption is that they don't have all the
answers and the best way to find the best answers is
through collaboration with others on the team.