Have you noticed how people are creating their own job titles these days? There are Chief Creative Officers, Chief Mission Officers and the more traditional Marketing Managers and Directors of Human Resources.

What’s in a name? Or, for that matter, what’s in a title? Are you a manager of your company? Or, are you a leader enlisting people in your company’s mission?

Can you be both a manager and a leader? I think so, but maybe not simultaneously. The skills are very different. In North Group terminology, when you manage things you are “doing.” You are:

• Calculating percentages of profit
• Following a pre-written plan to ensure results
• Using checklists
• And, making sure people aren’t going out of bounds in their work

When you are leading, it’s more about who you are “being.” You are:

• Inspiring the people who want to follow you by believing in them
• Being inspired yourself by a mission or vision and inviting others to put their own creative touch on that journey to success
• Acting strategically to see where your company could be in two years, five years, maybe even ten years
• And, putting the pieces in place to find your way to those two, five and ten-year goals

In order to reach those ten-year goals it means managing carefully. So you see, management and leadership are not opposing forces, but do take different skills, approaches, risks and intentions.

You can be both a manager and a leader. But, for the best results, recognize which hat you’re wearing and know when it is more appropriate to lead and when it is more appropriate to manage.

The succeeding generations of your business will thank you for knowing the difference and practicing both of these distinct qualities. It takes both of them to make a successful, long-standing business.