Discover The Critical Distinction Between Leadership Style And Management Style And The Impact On The Value Of Your Business.

Leadership style deals with inspiration and motivation of people. It describes the actions that result in people doing what you ask, because they trust you, respect you, and believe that you know what is best. It is a quality that has been well taught in the various parts of the military. <<

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Going back to my own days in the navy as a junior officer, I remember one piece of advice very well. It was that I should not give a command unless I was certain that it would be obeyed. In other words, don't try to lead if no one will follow.


A fascinating story has long been told about two Romans. Both were great believers in public speeches. However after one of them spoke, everybody remarked on what great speech it had been. After the other one spoke, people said "Lets March". The latter had an effective leadership style.


Take a look at your business and your leadership style. Is it one to inspire people to march, or will they merely remark that it is impressive. And if they won't march, what is the problem?


Leaders in the military typically lead from the front. It is more difficult to lead from the rear. It is possible to manage from the rear, but not lead. However, from the buyer's perspective, inspirational leadership may be counter productive. One famous investor used to remark that he liked to invest in businesses that were so easy to operate that they could be run by idiots. Because sooner or later they would be.


He didn't want to buy something dependent for success on an inspirational leader. He wanted proven, documented systems and processes. He wanted management and management systems that ensured that they were properly used.


It is great if your style is inspirational, and if you get superlative performance from your people. However, don't make the mistake of allowing that to be a substitute for management and all that management entails. Otherwise your business will appear to buyers to be too dependent on you and your ability. And that will diminish their confidence in the likelihood that it will continue to perform at that level when you leave.


Unfortunately that will cause them to pay less.


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