26 June 2007

Leaders and time

Money and timeThe way a leader handles time is maybe the clear difference between a real leader and a manager.

Many managers create the image with their employees, that you can only do good work if you are in before a certain time and time after a certain moment. Managers seem to take the saying: “time is money” literally.
Leaders seem to read this saying differently. They seem to think that with time you can make money and not that time costs money.

A leader does not look at time in the sense of how much time do I have and how much time do I think would someone need and how much would that time cost me. A leader looks to find the right person, who can produce with the wanted quality. And he or she tries to find someone who will be motivated by the project.
This approach has the advantage, off course, that the producer does not look at how much time he puts into the project, but how much time he would need to produce the wanted quality. The producer will not ask how much time he may use, he will keep going until he produces the wanted quality or the client says that it is good enough.

When it comes to time managers can learn a lot from leaders. It is a pity that most managers think, that time costs money and that learning takes time and that there is not enough money for that.