Do you like to be told what to do?

I always wanted to be a grown up. Now that I'm here, there are days, I wish I could be a kid again. I think there are many who feel the same way.

There was one thing I hated about being a kid. I didn't like to be told what to do. I didn't like teachers, parents and any other kid trying to control me.

Most want to do a job well. We learn this in school as we look for the affirming A on our test.

Some people need more direction. Some people require less. In either case, the reason we work with other people is compound the effort so it all gets done faster.

I escaped my childhood the day I entered the workforce full-time. There were protocols, rules, and roles. But as long as one did the job with interest, ferociousness and consistence, no one was questioned. No one directed, managed, or told me what to do until payroll costs started going up. To do the job, I was working 10-15 hours overtime per week. We all were in my department of 30 employees. The work had to be fully completed by Saturday at noon and we didn't have enough people to do it all.

I left that job when people started telling me what to do. I wanted to be lead. Instead I was managed. Unfortunately, most people in management roles think leadership and management are the same thing.

They are not.

You manage things.
You lead people.

By trying to manage a person, you diminish the person to a thing.

One of the biggest issues today in business is motivation of the workforce. Did you ever try to motivate a pencil? The damn thing doesn't move until you pick it off the desk and do the work for it.

Employees have roles in the organization. With motivation, they go beyond their specific roles to help the organization. Without it, they work 9-5, expecting a paycheck every two weeks. They don't try to excel. They don't try new risky things in fear of being fired. They do the job they were asked to do.

We crave leadership.

Entrepreneurs don't like to be told what to do. If you have an employee problem, the problem is a deeper issue embedded in a leadership problem.

You are the problem if you're supposed to be the leader.

If you fix the leadership problem, you will fix the employee problem.

Lead people. They crave it. They will love and respect you for it.