Having a leadership title doesn’t make you a leader

The terms manager and leader are often used interchangeably in healthcare organizations. But in my opinion, they are not synonymous.

There are countless articles and posts out there on the differences between being a manager and being a leader. Here’s my take on the distinction…

The words themselves (manager and leader), evoke very different images.

Managing paints a picture of control, getting by and operational tasks. Leading gives vibes of guidance, inspiration and deep responsibility. In organizations, there are many people with leadership titles who are managing. And then, there are those who really are leading. People with the titles get to choose whether they want to be managers or leaders.

I’m sure that 99% of people would say that they want to lead, but my guess is, that the percentage of people who are actually leading is much lower.

There are of course people who just don’t want to take on the responsibility of leading because it feels like too much. However, I suspect that many people who’ve fallen into the trap of management truly want to be leaders. But barriers like time, organizational pressures, lack of support and portfolios that are too large put people into survival (ie. management) mode.

Here’s the thing. Leadership doesn’t happen by default. Organizations and our culture in general skew towards management. If someone wants to lead, they have to go against the grain. This takes courage. It also takes clarity and intentionality.

But courage, clarity and intentionality aren’t the default for most of us. They have to be cultivated and nurtured. Time and space have to be set aside to support them.

I’ve chosen to support people who have the audacity to want to lead within the healthcare system because it’s a tough job and they shouldn’t have to do it alone.