A Startup Needs Leaders More Than Managers. But Where To Find Them?
@thebigk
•
Oct 24, 2024
Oct 24, 2024
1.2K
I'm talking about 'startups' : aka your small < 10 person company which dreams big and everyone working in it is responsible for everything. I've been reading a lot about managing & running startup companies and have found that a startup needs 'leaders' more than 'managers' to be successful. What's the difference between managers and leaders anyway? Let me put down my own thoughts about it.
Managers Vs. Leaders
It's very easy to differentiate between managers and leaders; and it's more about 'attitude' than your formal designation. Managers are typically the ones who need instructions about 'what to do'. Once the right & clear set of instructions is passed on to them, they'll perform to the best of their abilities to execute the task. But at the same time; they won't find out the 'resources' required for them to do the job. A manager needs all the resources & information to be given to them by someone else before they can begin their work.
Leaders on the other hand are self-motivated by a vision or a cause. They'd be proactive in coming up with their own task lists to achieve the goal they've set for themselves and become a 'problem-solver' at every step. They'll go an extra mile to to solve the problems. They'll do whatever it takes to achieve the end result.
To summarize: Leaders will identify problems & challenges in the path to their ultimate goal and then manage/find/create all the resources & information to overcome them. Managers on the other hand will solve the problems identified by Leaders & use the available resources to achieve the result.
Startups & Leaders
It's very difficult to find the 'self-motivation' factor among people these days and that I think is the reason why hiring for startups is a very challenging job. The question I want to ask is - how to turn managers into leaders? Because there are several managers who are easy to spot; but very few leaders.
Is it possible to motivate people to turn them into leaders and ignite the spark of 'self-motivation'?
Managers Vs. Leaders
It's very easy to differentiate between managers and leaders; and it's more about 'attitude' than your formal designation. Managers are typically the ones who need instructions about 'what to do'. Once the right & clear set of instructions is passed on to them, they'll perform to the best of their abilities to execute the task. But at the same time; they won't find out the 'resources' required for them to do the job. A manager needs all the resources & information to be given to them by someone else before they can begin their work.
Leaders on the other hand are self-motivated by a vision or a cause. They'd be proactive in coming up with their own task lists to achieve the goal they've set for themselves and become a 'problem-solver' at every step. They'll go an extra mile to to solve the problems. They'll do whatever it takes to achieve the end result.
To summarize: Leaders will identify problems & challenges in the path to their ultimate goal and then manage/find/create all the resources & information to overcome them. Managers on the other hand will solve the problems identified by Leaders & use the available resources to achieve the result.
Startups & Leaders
It's very difficult to find the 'self-motivation' factor among people these days and that I think is the reason why hiring for startups is a very challenging job. The question I want to ask is - how to turn managers into leaders? Because there are several managers who are easy to spot; but very few leaders.
Is it possible to motivate people to turn them into leaders and ignite the spark of 'self-motivation'?
