Leading is More Important Than Managing

To escape this hamster wheel, it is useful to first distinguish between two types of activities:

Management Etymologically "manager" - to handle, but also the arena, controlling a horse

As classic "Management", all activities that ensure good organization, clear processes, and the resolution of technical problems are meant. Management deals with all urgent tasks that must be done in everyday life - in the here and now. Those who see themselves as managers primarily think about what needs to be done now. Managers work through their to-do lists and sometimes feel like "firefighters" for problems in their area of responsibility.

Every company needs management because management activities ensure smooth organizational operations! Every leader must organize their own area of responsibility accordingly. However, an estimated 80% of management tasks are technical-administrative and therefore fundamentally delegable. It is therefore important to develop an organization in which technical-administrative tasks are taken over by competent employees instead of by the leader, to create time for leadership. And that requires leadership time: developing employees.

Leadership Etymologically "to move forward"

Good Leadership deals with the future, strategy, and the development of employees and organizations. Leaders think primarily about how to stimulate growth and development in their employees and their organization. They focus much more on goals and topics that lie ahead - things that should be but are not yet.

Pure leadership activities are important and rarely urgent. This is often the reason why these are "postponed." But: leadership activities cannot be delegated!

Reflection Question:
What kind of literature do you primarily engage with:

• Technical journals
• Leadership literature

The answer may provide a clue as to which role you prioritize: the manager role or the leadership role.

In my experience, leaders are far too tied up with management tasks in their daily work. This comes at the expense of leadership activities. "I just don't have time for real leadership!" I often hear from participants in my leadership seminars. This creates a vicious cycle: the more leaders are tied up in management tasks, the less time they have to take on leadership duties. So, a way is needed for leaders to manage less and lead more.

How about you? Do you also feel that you don't have enough time for the tasks that are important to you?

Have you started your to-do list yet? If not, you should start now!

Max Baumann created his list and immediately entered it into the table: the left column contains all technical or administrative tasks - the right column, pure leadership activities.
In his case, the right column remained empty.