510: Leading and Managing: Balancing Roles in Your Pet Business
Brought to you by: Pet Sitters Associates. Use ‘Confessional’ at checkout
Are you balancing the roles of leader and manager in your pet business effectively? In this episode, we delve into the distinct yet overlapping responsibilities of leadership and management. Leaders set clear visions, inspire their teams, and embrace change, while managers ensure daily operations run smoothly by planning, organizing, and monitoring tasks. We discuss how solo pet care entrepreneurs must juggle both roles to succeed. Tune in to discover tips on empowering your team, developing emotional intelligence, and continuously improving your leadership skills.
Main topics:
Leadership vs. Management Differences
Setting Vision and Goals
Inspiring and Motivating Team
Organizing Resources and Tasks
Balancing Roles for Solopreneurs
Main takeaway: Continuous self-improvement and honing your leadership skills are essential for business growth.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
leader, manager, pet sitter, team, people, fostering, inspire, vision, pet, guiding, company, goals, set, running, manage, work, creating, business, encouraging, team members
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin
Meghan 00:01
Hi, I'm Meghan. I'm Collin. And we are the hosts of pet sitter confessional and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you also to pet sitters associates for sponsoring today's episode, and our wonderful patreon supporters who have found value in the show. And they've learned some lessons along the way about being a pet sitter and dog walker. If that sounds like you, as well, and you would like to give a little bit back to the podcast to keep it going, you can go to pet sitter confessional.com/support to see all of the ways that you can help out. In a recent episode with Ken bots. It was episode 507, he mentioned how there's a difference between being a leader and a manager. And they had referenced a book called One Minute Manager, it's a great book, we highly suggest you read it. But we wanted to expand on that idea of leadership and management, how they're different, how they're similar. And when you need to be one or the other, or both. As the CEOs of our businesses, it's pretty obvious that we need to lead them. Whether you have employees or not, you are the leader of your business, you are the visionary and the director or you provide that direction and the clear vision of where you want the company to go, you inspire others by sharing that vision with them and aligning your team's efforts towards those common goals that you have set. As the leader you are also there to inspire and motivate your team members. A leader recognizes and nurtures the individual strengths of the team members and encourages that professional growth and personal growth as well. When you see something in someone, you say something, and it inspires them to keep going, that's creating this environment where the team members feel valued and engaged and they want to be there they want to continue doing the dog walks in the pet setting because they feel motivated to do so a good
Collin 01:46
leader is also going to be responsible for making well informed and timely decisions as it relates to the direction of the business, you're going to be analyzing information, considering different perspectives, seeking out different viewpoints and taking a decisive action. While ultimately being accountable for the outcomes you are wherever the buck stops, you will be able to make that decision, you will also be held accountable for whether it goes poorly or whether it goes really well. And wrapped up through all of this when we're working with our team members. We're also effectively communicating to those who need to be communicated with conveying those expectations, giving that constructive feedback like Meghan mentioned earlier, and importantly, here, part of communication isn't just speaking on and blabbering on. It's also listening actively to our team members to our clients to those in our community. Having open and honest having transparent communication is important for not just making decisions, but also for building trust and fosters that collaboration that's so important these days.
Meghan 02:50
Well, and that's why the team then feels supported in decisions or in choices that they make. Great leaders show empathy and support for their team. They understand and address the needs and concerns of employees creating this inclusive work environment where people again feel motivated and inspired to do the work because they ultimately feel supported. They say I have the ability to make these choices. And to have a little bit of this independence because my boss thinks I'm great. A leader demonstrates integrity by acting ethically and responsibly. Since this is a trust based industry. We don't want to ever hold back from our clients or only tell the half truth about how their pet did today. And at the same time we hold ourselves accountable as leaders for our actions. When we mess up, we say I'm sorry that I should not have done this. And I will do better next time we foster that culture of honesty and reliability.
Collin 03:44
during challenging times. True and good leaders are going to be adaptable and resilient in the face of those changes. A leader is going to remain composed under pressure and embrace new ideas and guide their team are guiding yourself through transitions through uncertainties as you have gathered information as you have effectively communicate that and you as you are guiding people forward through that with confidence.
Meghan 04:08
So we're not saying that any of this is easy. I mean, there's a reason why there's a sane, this person was born a leader, right. It takes the delegation and empowerment the leader understands that they're not going to be able to do everything all the time. They have strengths and weaknesses. And then they delegate those weaknesses out so they can empower the team to work in their strengths and take ownership of their work. The leader trusts their team's abilities and provides those resources in order to encourage and support them to succeed.
Collin 04:37
Anytime you have a group of people together, no matter how small or how big conflict will arise. At some point, a good leader is going to manage that conflict constructively. They're not going to try and just tamp it down and try and make it go away. They're constructively going to use that to make everybody better. They're going to address those issues promptly and fairly across them. They're going to facilitate healthy discussions, find solutions that align with the team's goals and values of the company to make sure that everybody's better at the end of that. And as as you go through conflict as you have people on a team as you are building, that, it's all about having a mindset of continuous improvement, where you are committed to both for both yourself and for your team, for your clients, for your community, you're gonna be seeking feedback, you're gonna be learning from those experiences and investing in development, so that you are better so that those around you are better. Being a leader is about guiding, inspiring and supporting others to achieve a collective goal, while fostering a positive and productive work environment for everybody.
Meghan 05:47
If a leader means inspiring and guiding others, then what does it mean to be a manager? Well, when we think of a manager, we typically think of the day to day tasks that need to be done. So the planning, managers develop plans and strategies to achieve the goals of the company. They set goals, determine what is needed any resources, and then they outline the steps to achieve those goals. Which means that they are very good at organizing, organizing the resources, the human resources, the financial resources, creating those structures, and delegating tasks, think about if you're going to be a vendor at an event, and all of the things that go into that you want different handouts and pamphlets that you have to create in Canva, you want promotional items that you can give away that also needs to be created through a third party that prints things, you need a banner and to know when and where and to craft in an efficient workflow for these things to get done by the deadline of the event, and all
Collin 06:41
the while, they're directing people making sure that they're giving good guidance to those team members, assigning set tasks, setting those expectations, giving support and feedback as well. They're also controlling and monitoring, evaluating the performance of the team of what's going on, they have a rubric, they have a set standard that they are trying to achieve, so that they know whether people are on track and whether projects are actually progressing in the right manner. Those metrics are really important to this knowing what reports to look at, and identifying areas for that improvement, so that everybody can take the corrective action.
Meghan 07:17
And as the manager is controlling all these little pieces, and all the buckets of people and money and everything, they need to be a good communicator. That's the whole point of this. It's critical to convey the information clearly to listen to the team and say, if they're boots on the ground, and they say, well, we don't know if this is going to work this way that the manager needs to come alongside them and say I see your point. That's, that's great. Thank you for thinking of that. And to help support them in these choices that they're
Collin 07:43
making. Meghan mentioned earlier about managers tend to be down in the nitty gritty details. And that's certainly important when it comes to budgeting responsible for managing those budgets, ensuring that resources are used effectively, and that expenditures align with the organization's financial goals. When we think about organizing and managing, what are we actually managing? Well, we can manage people, we can manage resources, we can manage time, we can manage all sorts of things, and the manager is in charge of making sure everything is moving in alignment with the goals and vision set by that leader. And the only way that they can do that is to make sure that they are reporting out this is a big function of managers is reporting on performance, progress, relevant metrics to those that need to know this involves preparing things and presenting these reports. So this tend to be more data people more number heavy things, so that so that those who are in charge so that the leaders can know, how do I take now that I know these numbers? What do I do with that? How do I know what exactly is going on? So if the leaders are all about leading and guiding and encouraging one others, managers are all about ensuring that the team or that organization is operating smoothly and efficiently. It requires this interesting blend of planning, effective communication of some leadership skills, absolutely. But also this operational oversight so that they can see all the cogs in the wheels and all the pieces that are moving to make sure that they're not just moving randomly, but they're moving towards a common goal.
Meghan 09:15
If you are a solopreneur pet business owner, you probably are thinking what does this have to do with me, I don't need to report things to anybody else. And I'm not I don't have a team of employees. So I'm not really a leader. But that's not true. You have a business to lead and you have a business to manage. You are just the only one managing and leading that business you have
Collin 09:35
financials that you need to make sure are in alignment. You have 510 15 year goals and plans and visions that you want to see the company take over and establish themselves. You have a brand that you are taking care of. You have a reputation that you are fostering all of that whether you have 100 employees or you have yourself out on that talk walk, you are managing Doing something you're managing your business. Yes, you can run a report in your petsitting software. So you can see how the times are looking and how efficient everything is running. And you can show yourself that absolutely. So you know how you are doing? Are you meeting your expectations for yourself? How are things looking? If you have a team? Yeah, you can hand that to somebody else so that they know. But when we just think about this, there's information here. We have a business to run, we have things to do. And we've got to get busy getting that done. So how do we take our skill sets? And what this is all about is understanding. What are our skill sets? What are we naturally inclined to be like and inclined to do, so that we can know what we can work on, or who we can outsource some of these things to, but
Meghan 10:48
there may come a time when being a manager is not enough. And we're going to talk about that right after pet sitters associates as pet care professionals, your clients trust you to care for their furry family members. And that's why pet sitters Associates is here to help. for over 20 years, they've provided 1000s of members with quality pet care insurance. Because you work in the pet care industry, you can take your career to the next level with flexible coverage options, client connections and complete freedom in and running your business. Learn why pet sitters Associates is the perfect fit for you and get a free quote at pets@llc.com. You can get a discount when you join by clicking membership Pet Sitter confessional and use the discount code confessional when you go to checkout. Check out the benefits of membership and insurance once again at pets@llc.com. While management skills are essential for running the day to day operations, business ownership demands a broader and strategic approach that visionary leadership, that financial acumen that innovative thinking the ability to build a strong relationships both within your company and obviously community partnerships are really important in the pet care industry, we've need to support each other and build each other up. The roles of the manager and leader do often overlap, especially if you're a solopreneur. But they are distinct in a few key ways. We're gonna go over six different categories of where a manager and a leader are different. The first one is focused on orientation. While the manager primarily deals with the structure and the process and again, the day to day operations of it running smoothly. The leader really focuses on the people in the vision really fostering that environment where the innovation and creativity can thrive. So again, when you have a goal, the manager lines out the 12 steps to achieve that goal. While the leader actually sets the goal and looks at it from a 30,000 foot view fluctuations happen all the time in our companies. So with an approach to change of something that needs to be altered in the company managers are more conservative when it comes to this change because they want to focus in on maintaining the stability and the efficiency within the company. While a leader really embraces that change, they say yes, let's take this on, let's transform the company to bigger and better things. And they're really more likely to take risks than a manager is. When
Collin 12:56
it comes to problem solving. Managers are going to solve immediate problems ensuring that operations run efficiently. They're also going to use analytical and logical approaches to address issues and make these kinds of decisions again, more immediate. How do I keep running today? How do I keep efficiently operating today, leaders on the other hand, are going to look at identifying and addressing root causes of any problems that come up. And they're going to looking at bigger picture more long term issues coming down the road. And they're going to look at encouraging innovative thinking collaboration to find those long term solutions. Because again, when it comes to the time horizon, managers are all about short to medium term focus, they want to achieve specific objectives with a set timeframe. So they can work on a defined boundaries and are driven by those key performance indicators, those KPIs and set targets for them. Leaders on the other hand, again, more long term focus, they're gonna be looking towards the future always strategy setting strategic strategies to move forward and allow their managers to do that short to medium term focus. Again, think of the leaders as those visionaries who are going to be thinking about broader impacts of their actions and decisions as opposed to those day to day, minute to minute operations.
Meghan 14:12
Another area where managers and leaders differ is that motivation and influence so managers motivate their team through rewards and incentives and sometimes penalties. But their influence is really based on that authority. While Leaders Inspire through vision and passion and commitment. They say, you know, it's more rah, rah, we can do this go team kind of thing. Their influence is based on the ability to connect with and motivate others on a personal level. So it's not really saying here that managers are Debbie downers and leaders are always happy go lucky people. But there is a distinction here of the day to day, grunt work and the airplane level vision for the company.
Collin 14:54
Think of it also have managers operate within the structure, leaders build the struck Sure, and are free to do what they want outside it and within it. And that is definitely a very real struggle as the business owner, as both the leader and the manager, you set the structure you work within the structure, think of it. Right, you have to follow your own SOPs, you have to follow your own policies and procedures, and your own cancellation policies. But you're the one who set those. That's why it's so easy for us to break them because well, who are we going to be accountable to? Who's going to tell me no, right? I made it. But then we always end up realizing that Oh, right, I made it for a reason. And so as we switch from the leader to manager, we have to set the vision. And then we work the vision, set the vision, work, the vision, set the plan, work the plan, and adapt in that loop as it is, you know, a lot of the examples that we talked about here, and we use that language of team and others and community and members, it does not matter whether you are a solo or whether you have a team of 100 people or whatever, you are the one who is going to decide, you get to put that hat on, I am a manager today, I am a leader today, ultimately, you started you founded the company, you are leading the organization, you are leading your business, through your vision of that 510 1520 year plan of how you want things to look, the only way you get there is by managing it by doing the day to day operations by looking at the budget by looking at the financials. But
Meghan 16:31
it can be hard when you're a solo business owner and you're doing everything yourself and you're starting to get a little burned out. Or maybe it's not in your skill set. Because managers and leaders are different in their skills. And maybe you don't have the strength to be a manager you to be you know, to be a manager and you need that strong organizational and you need to be good at managing resources and processes and ensuring the efficiency of things and route planning for your team. Or you may be more like a leader that has strong interpersonal and communication skills and be able to take the risks but also want to inspire and influence others and help that that positive change and that inclusive culture through guiding your team. So maybe if you don't have those manager skills, or just don't want to do those things, you need to consider and run the numbers for hiring a manager somebody in between you, the leader and the employees who are doing the daily fieldwork and dog walks and Pet Sets,
Collin 17:23
or even just saying the phrase of hiring a manager, we have to know what we're hiring for and who we are hiring because they have to manage something. So we have to be ready to give them something to manage, they have to have something to conserve and preserve and stick to and work towards. We as the leaders provide them that we say, Hey, here's where the demarcation line is, here's the goalpost, and the manager is the one who works to get there to bring people along and to make sure that all of those facets are being taken care of. And all of those objectives are being hit along the way. If we hire a manager thinking that they're going to be also a leader or that they're just somebody to take over the extra work that we're tired and frustrated with, that's not going to work out. A true manager is going to want to be able to work within that system, or maybe help you formalize the system that you have running around in your head.
Meghan 18:16
Because we are all leaders in our businesses, we wanted to talk a little bit about how to become a better leader. Just as you are not the same person you were five or 10 years ago, you should also not be the same leader that you were five or 10 years ago, always improving that continuous self improvement and honing your skills, adopting the behaviors that inspire and guide. There are three things that you can do to become a better leader. And the first one is develop emotional intelligence. And actually, Colin, you talked with Wayne Hartley about this on episode 224. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and not just your own but those and others as well. It's really that empathy that comes out making an effort to understand others perspectives and feelings. And then having that that self awareness to recognize it and yourself where your strengths and weaknesses are, and in others as well. Because when you are able to understand yourself better, you can help regulate yourself by staying calm and composed under pressure. And that's really a great benefit of being a leader because you can avoid those impulsive decisions and really focus on maintaining a positive attitude. Meghan
Collin 19:24
mentioned this earlier, but it's about being empathetic to others so that you can understand where other people's perspectives where they are coming from, what their feelings are. And then not just knowing that but showing a genuine concern for others well being and building strong trust based relationships. Because at the core at the foundation of everything that we do in the pet care industry is about trust. So being able to understand why is this person nervous? Why is this person scared? Why is this person frustrated right now, and having the social skills and social awareness as we improve our communication skills to resolve conflicts to communicate to get to the root of why people are acting the way they are. So we can understand that
Meghan 20:03
you also become a better leader by empowering and encouraging others, it will really boost their confidence and make you feel good as well. It'll boost their creativity and their performance within your company. When you delegate effectively and trust your team with important tasks, is going to provide them autonomy, which is very critical for this because we send them out and we want them to make wise choices in Pennsylvania dog walking, by offering trainings or mentoring or opportunities to take on new challenges, it'll enhance their skills, and also show you that they want to be a part of this. If you don't have a team, make sure that you are investing in yourself by continuing to do the training and going to conferences and networking with other pet sitters in your area and across the world. When you recognize others hard work and achievements, it really boosts their morale and motivate them to continue doing what they're doing. So regularly give that positive feedback and show their appreciation, maybe their their love languages, gifts, and you'd send them a Starbucks gift card or maybe it's words of encouragement and you say something nice to them. One
Collin 21:09
of the biggest aspects of being a leader is having clear and effective communication and having a clear vision of where you are headed and be able to let other people know about that. And that is exceptionally hard because that means that we ourselves have to have that defined, and then we have to tell other people about it. A clear vision will provide direction and purpose for you. And for those that are around you. As a leader you have to articulate this vision and sure everyone around you understands that their role in achieving it. So define your vision, clearly outline the long term goals and mission of your business, or for the people around you for your team, for your CPA for your tax accountant for whoever's around you. Make sure it is inspiring and aligns with your personal values and those of your team members if you bring them alongside you, and then communicate this consistently, regularly share your vision and updates on the progress with others. Use various communication channels and ensure that your message is clear and consistent each time you present this. As you are communicating your goals and your vision consistently. You These should all be in alignment with one another that the grand vision that you have set. Each individual goal should make sense in the progression towards them. Help your team help yourself. Importantly, first and foremost, help yourself see how your work that you do every single day contributes to the bigger picture, but that will foster a sense of purpose and direction day in and day out.
Meghan 22:38
Do you consider yourself more of a leader or a manager we would love to know you can email us at Pitzer confessional@gmail.com or look us up on Facebook and Instagram at Pet Sitter confessional. Thank you for taking your time today and listening to this we hope it has been helpful to you. Thank you also to pet sitters associates for sponsoring today's episode and our Patreon supporters and we will talk with you next time. Bye
