Managing people has nothing to do with the people you are managing.
Wait, what?
Author Michael E. Gerber has a series of books centered around “The E Myth.” I was taken off guard when he started discussing managing people.
Gerber writes: “We often hear that a good manager must be a ‘people person.’ Someone who loves to nourish, figure out, support, care for, teach, baby, monitor, mentor, direct, track, motivate, and, if all else fails, threaten or beat up his or her people. Don’t believe it.” He continues: “Because management has far less to do with people than you’ve been led to believe.”
After some critical words on those who write about leadership (ouch!), he explains, “And the reason is simple: People are unmanageable! (his emphasis).”
He is saying, I believe, that because people are unpredictable and sometimes unruly, they cannot be really managed.
Managers have to create the structure around people to adequately manage and hold people accountable to tasks. Gerber goes on to say that “management is really all about managing a process, a step-by-step way of doing things…”
My Initial Pushback Against Gerber’s View
Management isn’t about nurturing and supporting and helping people grow?! Did he really write that? I had to read that section several times and I challenged myself to keep my mind open to a new perspective.
At face value, this is in direct contradiction to my perspective on people leadership.
If you have read my book, Valued: The Six Coaching Habits that Turn Subject Matter Experts into Enthusiastic Talent Developers, or had more than a 2-minute conversation with me about leading people, you know that care and support are at the heart of what great leadership looks like and sounds like day to day.
What Gerber is saying is that effective managers institute and monitor structure. This results in employees having very clear job responsibilities, and it allows teams to run efficiently and effectively.
Finding Common Ground: Structure Matters
Wait, I agree with that! If roles are clear and each team member has the tools to execute well on what’s expected of them, the leader can, and should, take a lot of credit for that. Great execution becomes, over time, repeatable and predictable.
So how do we reconcile what appears to be a contradiction? We recognize that there is a difference between managing and leading. Management versus leadership is not just semantics.
The “Yes, And” of Managing and Leading
Formal people leaders need to be both a manager and a leader. In the best examples, people leaders provide structure and set clear expectations.
They give clear direction, and they remove obstacles that allow their employees to excel in their roles. In other words, as Gerber states, “Instead of managing people, then, the truly effective manager is one who has been taught a system for managing a process through which people get things done.”
They ALSO attempt to increase their employees’ levels of emotional and psychological investment in their shared work. This comes in a number of forms but often starts as mirroring their current disposition. As I discuss in my book Valued, they “meet them where they are,” and they support their work and their growth in a way that honors that person as an individual. They DO nurture and support and mentor and care for the people who are showing up every day expecting that of an exceptional leader. To manage someone well, you must also lead them well, too. They go hand in hand. I don’t think Gerber allows for the “yes, and” relationship between managing processes and leading people.
Great Leaders Must Be Both Managers and Mentors
I left my reflection on this passage grateful for both affirmation and new perspective. In past roles where I formally led others, and in sessions with clients or discussions in emerging leader programs, I can easily slip into advocacy for more leading. I can speak passionately about the value of investing in others. This reflection reinforced my already strong belief.
I was also reminded, rightly, that all employees deserve and require order, process, rigor, and resources to do their jobs effectively. Managers need to manage, too! Admittedly, I can tend to downplay their need or assume that they are already there as a basic requirement and the growth comes in the leadership portion of the role. Ultimately, it is, as is often the case, likely me simply leaning into my strength at the expense of the part of the role that I get less enjoyment out of.
Managers need to remind themselves to give time and space to the tactics that support strong leadership (developing, mentoring, teaching, supporting). Leaders need to be cognizant that managing is a requirement for a successful team and successful outcomes. Employees deserve both!
Balance Management and Leadership in Your Own Role
If you’re ready to explore how to bring both structure and support to your leadership, let’s connect:
No obligation—just a chance to explore how clarity can be your foundation for better decisions, confident leadership, and thriving teams.
