Leaders vs Non-leaders

‪What’s the difference between a leader and anyone else?

• A leader takes responsibility for things she doesn’t control.

• Anyone else takes responsibility mostly or only for themselves.

I refer to it as being a leader vs an operator/producer.

A leader is responsible for operating and producing on things she controls, but she also takes responsibility for things she doesn’t control. Things like other employees, culture, standards, total team performance, collective production, product quality, etc.

Operators/producers take responsibility only for things they can control and don’t take responsibility for much beyond that. In that sense they are “non-leaders” because they choose not to accept responsibility beyond themselves.

Self-awareness helps teams align and perform where each person adds the most value. Let producers produce. Let operators operate. Let leaders lead. Know your job. Own your job.

Embrace the chase. Do the work.