The Difference Between Leading and Running A Business – Kristelle Siarza

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. Anxiety before payroll, guilt spending time away from children, dealing with HR issues.

There will always be challenges running the business, leading your staff, and handling all the other crucial matters and issues that arise. The truth is that everything can easily become confusing, especially if you do not know the kind of role that you have to take on as a business person. This is the reason why you may think that leading and running the business is just one act. 

However, there is a big difference between leading a business and running a business. Both these activities may have the same goal, but the approach should be different. 

What Is The Main Difference?

Ask yourself: Are you working on the business or in the business?

Leading a business means that you are more focused on the people who are part of your company. You look out for them because you understand their value in your business. On the other hand, running a business means that you devote your time and efforts to the company’s day-to-day operations, even doing the tasks yourself. 

It is proper to say that both of these activities must exist together. If you want to grow your business, you must focus on the big picture. Accept the reality that you will have difficulty scaling your business without the right people on your team, led by you.

Leading A Business

As already mentioned above, leading pertains to a set of actions directed to the individuals who make up the company’s workforce. There is a necessity to lead people well because doing so can boost their morale and improve productivity. It is crucial that you put focus and attention into leading a business. 

As a leader, the first step you should do is get to know every person who works for your business. Keep in mind that the only way to become an effective leader is to understand your members better. This goes beyond knowing the basic information about them. Understanding their professional and personal goals, their work style and taking time to help them improve will make them feel appreciated and motivated in their role. 

Moreover, you should make an effort to connect your employees with one another. Keep in mind that doing this can benefit your business in the long run and create a strong culture that will attract top talent as you grow. Lead them in such a way that you can make them feel comfortable with being around each other. Set an example to them that it is crucial to work well together to achieve a common goal.

Conclusion

Remember that leading a business is as important as running a business. You must also be logical and realistic when it comes to managing your daily operations. You have to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your company. It is only then that you can begin to think of better alternatives to thrive and do better. Consider your own support system that can help you better manage aspects of the company you don’t feel as confident in and can plan strategically with. If you want to start growing and strengthening your business, then it is best to recognize the difference between  your leading and managing efforts and make a focused effort to do both.