Is Your Vision Shared BY All? Or Is It Only Share ON All

When I accompany my clients on their journey to be their best, we learn that we need to both lead and manage, and communication is key to both. 

To create an organization where each team member shares the vision and makes every decision aligned with that vision, we must employ both leadership and management communication. 

What’s the difference between communicating leadership and communicating management? More things vary than may meet the eye – well, and more things vary than meet the ear. 

First, the examples:

• The topics we communicate are different. 
• The interaction is often different.
• The style of communication is often different.

Here are the important points for each of those three variances above:

• The topics we communicate are different.
  • When leading, we are sharing the bigger story:  the why, the where, and the who. Why are we here on this earth as an organization? Where are we going directionally? Who would we ideally want to accompany us on the journey?
  • When managing, we are most likely sharing more detailed information:  the what and the how. What expectations do we have? What quality, quantity, or cadence do we expect? What does “done” look like? How do we typically do this; is there a process we should follow?
• The interaction is often different.
  • When leading, we may share in bursts – one way from us to them before opening for questions.
    • Can you think of communicators who touched both your mind and your heart? Most likely, they were terrific storytellers. Often, the stories included “the why.”
    • What messages can we use to motivate our team to take their eyes off the day-to-day and look to the future for inspiration? Can they see where they are going?
    • Could you rally your team with a few words to drive to (or to celebrate)  a success?
    • Stories help create energy to change direction, as well as increase momentum. Get “the whos” aligned.
  • When managing, we are communicating more interactively, typically.
    • How can I help you to be successful?
    • What questions do you have for me?
    • Do you feel great about hitting the targets last week?
    • What is keeping you from doing your best work?
    • I have failed you, and I need to know what we need to solve to get back on track.
    • Thank you for completing your work – also, thanks for living our core values as exemplified by your collaborative approach.

• The style of communication is often different.
• You may have detected that from the examples above.
  • When leading, we are more visionary and often more forward-looking.
    • We are touching the hearts in our organization:  engaging with aspirations.
    • We are touching the minds in our organization:  increasing the potential of our team.
  • When managing, we are more direct, focused, and in the moment.
    • We are ensuring clarity of expectations to get the most from our resources.

Finally, you may be thinking: 

• “I’m a senior leader. I only lead; I don’t manage.”
  • Well, if you’re not willing to share your expectations with your team, please don’t wonder why they miss meeting/exceeding them. 
• “I’m a supervisor. I don’t need to lead; I only need to get my team to accomplish these tasks.”
  • When the going gets tough, people need to remember the bigger picture. If your team is digging in the trenches and all they can see and smell is the trench, while they may keep digging, they would be more likely to dig faster if they know that a couple of months from now, the trench will be complete (a mountaintop) and that from this experience they’ll be more prepared to take on the next assignment – after celebrating their success, of course.

Every leader needs to manage, just as every manager needs to lead. 

The percentage of time we employ the two communication styles may vary as we rise in the ranks, however, we need to be skilled and employ both leadership and management communication. We must bring both hearts and minds along with us on our journey to be our best, raising all eyes to the next mountaintop while we ensure our footing is solid for our next step in the right direction as our organization rises to the top. 

To ensure our vision is shared by all—and not only shared on all—we need to be storytellers and expectation-setters both.

© Amy S. Courter 2025