Leadership vs. Management

Too many people we speak with are drowning in the day to day operational details of running their business. Intellectually, most of us understand that to run a successful business, we must have a vision for the future and goals and strategies to achieve that vision. This is especially true if you want to achieve your passion versus deal with minutia. Unfortunately, it is way too easy for us to be pulled away from our vision and into the weeds.

The Difference Between a Leader and a Manager

You probably know the answer to this, but we will tell you again: Leaders have a vision and work to generate excitement and get their teams on board. Managers oversee the details to help the vision come to life.

If you want to have a well-run firm, you must have a well-run management team that understands its roles and responsibilities. This means you must understand what we call their “pain points” and find solutions. If the building is on fire, they don’t want to hear talks of vision.

Stop the Fire Before It Starts

As a law firm owner, there is a bigger problem: How can you find time to assume a leadership role when there are so many problems or concerns that you never seem to resolve them? Your only hope now is to convince the management team that fighting fires is a job for the fire fighters and their job is running a business. Your job is to clearly define the vision of the firm and where you want to go. Being proactive before your building is on fire allows you to grow with stability and safety.

Now, before they soak you with the fire hose, develop a defined plan that clearly sets out the manager roles and the leader roles. Create specific steps and goals. Address the pain points. And become a proactive best business practice firm.

At Catalyst Group we teach management the fine art of best business practices to develop law firm owners into leaders. Contact cheryl@catalystgroupinc.com for more information.