The Art of Being a "Lanager": Why Great Leaders Must Also Manage

 I've been thinking a lot lately about why some people in charge seem to thrive while others crash and burn spectacularly. After years of watching this play out in countless organizations, I've come to realize that the secret isn't about being either a great leader or a skilled manager—it's about being both simultaneously.

Let me introduce you to a concept I've grown to love: the "lanager." Yes, it's an ugly word, and yes, I made it up by smashing "leader" and "manager" together. But hear me out, because this ungraceful term captures something beautiful about how the best people actually operate in the real world.

The Vision-Execution Trap

Here's what I've observed: If you're someone who spends all your time painting grand visions of the future, talking in lofty terms about where we're headed, but never actually gets anything done, people will grow to resent you. They'll roll their eyes when you walk into meetings. They'll wonder what you actually contribute beyond fancy words and big dreams.

On the flip side, if you're constantly buried in the weeds—always focused on tomorrow's deliverables, next week's deadlines, and the nitty-gritty details—but never lift your head to explain the bigger picture, people will equally hate working for you. They'll feel like cogs in a machine, grinding away without understanding why their work matters.

I've seen both types fail miserably. The pure visionary becomes irrelevant. The pure executor becomes soul-crushing.

Tell the Drummer What the Song Is About

One of my favorite analogies comes from music. You can't just hand a drummer sheet music and expect them to play their heart out. Sure, they'll hit the right beats at the right time, but something will be missing. The magic happens when you tell them what the song is actually about—the emotion, the story, the meaning behind those notes.

This is exactly what effective lanagers do. They don't just assign tasks; they explain why those tasks matter. They help their team understand how their individual contributions fit into the larger narrative. Then—and this is crucial—they switch gears and get into the tactical details of how to execute.

The best lanagers I know move fluidly between these two modes, sometimes within a single conversation. They'll start by explaining the strategic importance of a project, then dive deep into the specific steps needed to make it happen. Why and how. Vision and execution. Over and over again.

The Exhausting Art of Translation

Perhaps the hardest part of being a lanager is serving as a translator between different levels of the organization. I think of those simultaneous interpreters at the United Nations, frantically translating complex negotiations between different countries. You can see how mentally exhausting it is, but it's absolutely essential for communication to happen.

That's what lanagers do every single day. They translate the strategic priorities from leadership into actionable plans for their teams. They take the concerns and feedback from the front lines and present them in a way that senior leadership can understand and act upon.

But here's where most people get it wrong—they think being a translator means being a neutral messenger. They deliver information up and down the chain without adding their own perspective. This is a mistake. The best lanagers don't just pass messages; they interpret them, add context, and most importantly, they take a stand.

I've learned that people actually hate working with someone who has no fingerprints on decisions. You know the type—they agree with whoever spoke last, never voice their own opinion, always play it safe. This might seem like a smart political move, but it backfires. People lose respect for leaders who won't take a position.

The Fear of Making Hard Calls

I get it. Making tough decisions is terrifying because your name gets attached to the outcome. If it goes well, great. If it bombs, everyone knows it was your call. This fear keeps a lot of people from ever developing into effective lanagers.

But here's what I've learned through my own failures: life generally goes on. I've made plenty of wrong calls, and each time I thought it might be career-ending. Instead, I discovered that owning your mistakes actually builds respect rather than destroying it.

The first time I stood in front of my team and said, "That was my decision, it didn't work, I own it, and here's what I learned," I was amazed by the response. People didn't lose confidence in me—they gained respect for my honesty and accountability. Now I know that everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone has the courage to own them and learn from them publicly.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

After working with hundreds of people in leadership roles, I've noticed something interesting: being a lanager is actually much harder than the alternatives. It's relatively easy to be an individual contributor where you're only responsible for your own output. It's also not that difficult to sit on a board where you only deal with big-picture strategy.

But combining both leadership and management? That's genuinely challenging. You need different skill sets, different mindsets, and the ability to switch between them rapidly. Some people realize this and decide it's not for them—and that's perfectly fine. Not everyone needs to be a lanager.

But for those who do take on this role, whether you're managing three people or three thousand, the principles remain the same. You need to dream and execute. You need to inspire and organize. You need to translate and take stands.

The Unglamorous Truth

I won't lie to you—this isn't glamorous work. It doesn't fit neatly into traditional categories or job descriptions. It's messy, exhausting, and often thankless. You'll make mistakes, and they'll be visible. You'll have to make calls with incomplete information, and sometimes you'll be wrong.

But when you get it right—when your team understands not just what they're doing but why it matters, when they trust you to represent their interests while also pushing them to excel—there's something deeply satisfying about that. You're not just managing processes or leading from a distance. You're in the thick of it, making things happen while helping others see the bigger picture.

So embrace the awkward term. Become a lanager. Your team—and your organization—will be better for it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Impossible Balancing Act: Being Loved by Your Team AND Your Boss

I used to think there were two types of people in charge: those who lived in the clouds with big visions and those who stayed buried in the trenches getting things done. Then I realized I was wrong. The really successful ones? They do both. And that realization changed everything about how I approach leadership. Let me share something with you that sounds almost impossible: the art of being beloved by both your team and your bosses at the same time. I know, I know—it sounds like trying to serve two masters. But hear me out, because this might be the most important skill you'll ever develop as someone who runs a team. Why Most People Choose Sides Here's what I've observed in my years of managing teams: most people take the easy route. They pick a side. Some managers go up. They focus entirely on making their bosses happy. They deliver results, hit targets, and never push back on unreasonable demands. Their teams might grumble, but hey, the numbers look good from the top ...

The Five Hard Truths About Crisis Management That Every Leader Must Know

 I thought I was prepared for my first real crisis. I'd read the business books, taken the management courses, and felt confident about my leadership abilities. Then it hit—one of those situations that comes out of nowhere and threatens to unravel everything you've built. What I learned in those brutal weeks changed how I think about leadership forever. Here's the uncomfortable reality: every manager and leader will face a crisis. Not might face one—will face one. The predictable, routine business environment of decades past is gone. Something will come along and wreck your carefully laid plans, and when it does, you can't just hope it goes away. Your team, your customers, and your stakeholders will all be looking to you to navigate through the chaos. After surviving several crises and watching other leaders handle them well or poorly, I've identified five hard truths that determine whether you'll emerge stronger or get crushed under the pressure. Truth #1: I...

The Hard Truth About Letting People Go: Why Your Job Isn't Done When the Meeting Ends

I still remember the first time I had to fire someone. After months of struggling with their performance, having difficult conversations, and losing sleep over whether I was doing the right thing, I finally called them into my office. The conversation went better than I'd expected. They were professional, even understanding. I walked back to my desk feeling this enormous sense of relief. "Thank God that's over," I thought. I actually called my spouse and said exactly those words. I felt like I could finally breathe again, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Then I went back to work, ready to move on. What I didn't understand then—and what took me years to learn—is that my job had just begun. While I was feeling relieved that the hard part was over, for them, the hardest part of their professional life was just starting. The Moment Everything Changes Here's what happens when you let someone go: for you, it's the end of a long, difficult proc...