Leadership is about influence and setting direction - not about control.

The concept of leadership is often interchanged with management functions. Indeed, in some organizations without a traditional hierarchy, managers are leaders. But to truly exhibit leadership, you must remember that leadership is about showing the way and not about controlling and directing activity. Let’s find out why.

It’s a good idea to understand some of the characteristics of leadership - as compared to characteristics of management. First of all, leadership is about establishing direction. As a leader, you should describe the future and point the organization towards it - but be wary of “directing the direction”. In other words, a leader should not attempt to control the details of how the organization heads in the newly established direction. Leave the details to the people that are in the field, the ones who are actually performing tasks - if you stand out of their way, they’ll probably be able to get the organization where you want it.

In establishing direction, you’re establishing change. A common term that’s thrown around in leadership and management circles is “change management”. That term, from a pure leadership standpoint, is misleading. As a leader, you shouldn’t endeavor to manage the change that’s occurring - instead, you should direct your attention to motivating the organization and explaining why and how the change impacts them. Again, it’s the idea of getting out of the way to allow the line to work through the nuts and bolts of change. So change management should really be “change motivation” from the leadership standpoint.

Innovation is another characteristic of leadership. A leader should decide that the status quo is great but there must be improvements - this could come in the form of new services, new products, or new brands, like GM’s Saturn or Commerce Bank’s extended “non-bankers” hours. As a leader, you shouldn’t attempt to control the small facets of the innovation - for example, Commerce’s leadership team knew that they wanted to see branches open for twelve or thirteen hours a day. Functional management figured out the way to make this happen.

Leadership is about setting an example. The old adage “do as I say, not as I do” has no place in modern leadership. Your actions will be watched, scrutinized, and probably imitated, so concentrate on the image you project. If you get too involved in controlling what’s going on, you’ll forget about that image. You can also ensure that up and coming leaders see your example - and follow it. What better way to coach and teach than to set the example for everyone in the organization?

You must also motivate in order to lead. There are two reasons for this. The most obvious reason is to ensure that morale stays high - that teams are constantly focused on the benefits of doing what they’re doing. The second reason is that when you are a positively motivating leader, teams will follow you anyway. There will be no need to exercise control and direct activities because they will happen on their own, carried out by teams that are motivated to “follow the leader”. With motivation comes influence - those people that are following you are doing so because you’ve influenced them with your vision and example. A fine line develops with influence, especially if you are the leader who “gets out of the way”. Suppose your teams ask for your assistance or advice - you can propose viable solutions and hope that the team members follow them. Or, you can be assured that by your motivation, vision, and example that they will follow you.

Let’s look at the lines between leadership and control. We’ve just discussed the actions you can take as a leader. Each one of those actions can lead you down a path to control and micro-management if you let them. When setting direction, remember the importance of setting a few solid goals and letting the organization determine the details. If you drill down to your direction, which may be normal for you, you’ll see that your leadership has turned into a form of control. The simple act of “getting out of the way” is a form of control - are you able to let the teams work on solving organizational issues? If not, you’ve crossed the line into management and control.

Take a look back at innovation - this is also an area that can mislead you. You know what you’d like to see - you know what your vision is. From a functional standpoint you may even know exactly how to carry that vision out. But as a leader, you should stand back and see how the organization handles your innovation. The first time you do this, the temptation will always exist to jump in and try to manage the details, the procedures, the short term goals and objectives. But the more you stand back and watch your innovation turn into action, you’ll be able to see the capabilities of your teams. And your teams will see you as a leader who trusts them with innovative ideas.

Remember that leadership is about showing the way and execution is about control. You have team leaders to work on execution - and you should allow them to do it. Leadership is about your influence, innovation, and vision - it’s not about showing your ability to control or direct activities. When you stay “on top” of leadership actions and stand back to watch your teams perform, you’ll truly be able to see the difference. And you’ll set yourself up as a leader to watch.