Do leaders actually lead — and do managers really manage?
“After working with small and medium-sized businesses across Scotland for the past eight years, I’ve seen a wide range of approaches to leadership and management — some effective, many well-intentioned, and others quietly holding businesses back.”
Yvonne Webb - Founder of Action Coach
After working with small and medium-sized businesses across Scotland for the past eight years, I’ve seen a wide range of approaches to leadership and management — some effective, many well-intentioned, and others quietly holding businesses back.
At their core, businesses are simply groups of people working towards a common goal. How those people are supported, motivated and developed matters enormously. When individuals grow, businesses grow with them. Yet despite this, leadership and management capability is often under-prioritised, overtaken by the relentless pressure of day-to-day operations. Many organisations become trapped on the hamster wheel of “doing”, losing sight of the long-term gains that come from investing time in their people. Sometimes, slowing down really is the fastest way forward.
A common challenge arises when individuals are promoted into management roles because they excelled in their previous position. While understandable, the skills required to perform a role well are not the same as those needed to lead or manage others. Without proper support and development, both the individual and their team are unlikely to perform at their best.
Even experienced managers and leaders are not immune to this problem. Skills need to be refreshed, challenged and developed over time, yet in many organisations this simply doesn’t happen. I often compare it to buying the best computer available but never switching it off or updating the software. Eventually, performance slows — not because the hardware is poor, but because it hasn’t been maintained.
Leadership often receives the most attention, while management is quietly overlooked. Yet strong management is critical. It provides the structure, systems and consistency that allow people to work productively and confidently. Management is the brain of the business.
Leadership, by contrast, is the heart. It creates direction, purpose and belief. It sets vision, culture and standards, and provides an environment in which people can be the best version of themselves — a subtle but important difference from simply “getting the best out of people”.
Too often, leaders and managers struggle to step fully into these roles because of what I call “superhero-itis”. Wanting to be helpful, they answer every question, fix every issue and sometimes even do the work themselves. While well-meaning, this approach teaches teams to rely on their manager rather than think for themselves, squeezing leaders’ time and limiting growth across the organisation.
A more effective approach is to become a people builder rather than a problem solver. Taking a coaching mindset — answering questions with questions, encouraging reflection and guiding people to find their own solutions — builds confidence, capability and accountability. While it may feel slower in the moment, it delivers far greater long-term impact.
According to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workforce report, only 10% of UK employees feel engaged at work, ranking the UK among the lowest in Europe. They state this low engagement, with 90% of workers not engaged or actively disengaged costs the UK economy an estimated £293.5 billion annually in lost productivity, stating that managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement. They highlight that fixing manager engagement is key to improving overall workforce sentiment.
If Scotland’s SME community is serious about productivity, resilience and sustainable growth, then investing in the development of managers and leaders cannot remain optional. A culture of continual learning and improvement is not a luxury — it is a necessity.
Yvonne Webb is Founder of Action Coach
