Doing The Right Thing

Writen by Mike Myatt

One of my favorite things to write about is the topic of leadership and one of my favorite business theorists is Peter Drucker. Peter Drucker has authored more than 35 books and is considered by many to be the founding father on the study of management practices. In this blog post I will breakdown one of my favorite "Druckerisms" which states that: "managers do things right while leaders do the right things."

At first glance the above Druckerism might not seem to be all that insightful, but I believe it is very powerful observation that highlights the difference in philosophies between most managers and leaders.

Doing things right is a trait that causes managers to be focused on security and security is most often underpinned by fear based motivations. Doing things right will cause managers to be safe and politically correct in approach. It is this fear based motivation that causes managers to protect turf as opposed to gain ground, to control as opposed to inspire, and to refine as opposed to create. Doing things right leads to comfort zone management that completely inhibits the ability to innovate.

Doing the right things is a trait that causes leaders to be guided by their instincts, principles, values and desire to achieve. Leaders motivated by doing the right things are not risk adverse, rarely politically correct and they thrive on shaking things up. It is leaders doing the right things that innovate, motivate, create and inspire. Doing the right thing is often times controversial, but true leaders are not daunted by the thought of conflict as are most managers. Leaders guided by doing the right thing are willing to step-up and make the big decisions that open markets, exploit opportunities and drive innovation.

If you're not sure whether you are doing things right or doing the right things take yourself through the following personal assessment:

1. When was the last time you witnessed something that you didn't agree with but kept quiet on the issue to protect yourself rather than voicing your concern in order to protect the enterprise?

2. When was the last time you rocked the boat by design? Rocking the boat by default or by mistake doesn't count…

3. When was the last time you drove innovation? Hint: purchasing a new software application is not innovation…

4. If a survey was taken of your peers and subordinates would they refer to you as a leader who inspires, motivates and mentors or a manager who exercises authority and control?

It is important to realize that everyone has fears. Ask anyone who has ever been in combat and they'll tell you that it is being in touch with their innate sense of fear that kept them alive. However as important as it is to be aware of your fears, as a leader you cannot allow yourself to be ruled by them.

Mike Myatt is the Chief Strategy Officer at N2growth. N2growth is a leading venture growth consultancy providing a unique array of professional services to high growth companies on a venture based business model. The rare combination of branding and corporate identity services, capital formation assistance, market research and business intelligence, sales and product engineering, leadership development and talent management, as well as marketing, advertising and public relations services make N2growth the industry leader in strategic growth consulting. More information about the company can be found at http://www.N2growth.com