Walk don’t run.

Coach don’t manage.

What would life be like in your business if you removed the word manage?

We manage activities, we lead people.

We manage tasks, we inspire people.

Language shapes culture, and if we are going to use language to shape the leadership transformation in our organisations, I ask you to seriously consider removing the word manage from your org chart.

For instance;

• Lead – People Development Vs People Development Manager
• Lead – Organisational Effectiveness Vs Organisational Effectiveness Manager
• Lead – Operational Excellence Vs Operational Excellence Manager
• Lead – Corporate Services Vs Corporate Services Manager
• Lead – Customer Experience Vs Customer Experience Manager
• Lead – Business Improvement Process Vs Business Improvement Processes Manager

‘Middle -Managers’ report to me in our programs how frustrated they are with lack of authority.  They have a constant nagging feeling of dissatisfaction as they are unable to truly manage people and manage time, and control people and control time.

The reality is they can’t – no person can.

We can influence, we can guide, we can direct and we can move, however we can’t control or really manage another human being.

We can however help them to manage their activities, their priorities and their tasks. All in alignment with the collective goals of the business and the top priorities.

A thought provoker.

What would life be like at work for you if you decided to Coach and Mentor the person, not try to Manage them?

We will go further into Coaching and Mentoring skills in another article. Or you can check out The Influential Leader Online Learning Modules for powerful learning bytes on how to coach and mentor.