The Balance Between ‘Doing Things Right’ and ‘Doing the Right Thing’

Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, famously distinguished between efficiency , “doing things right” and effectiveness, “doing the right thing.” While both are essential for success, they represent fundamentally different priorities and good leadership lies in knowing how to balance them. 

 Doing Things Right: The Efficiency Mindset    

“Doing things right” is about precision, consistency and optimising processes. It’s ensuring that tasks are completed with the least waste of time or resources, often leaning on clear systems, tools and routines. This is essential for operational success, think of it as building a smooth-running machine where each part functions flawlessly. 

However, efficiency without direction can be counterproductive. You can be excellent at climbing a ladder, but if it’s leaning against the wrong wall, all that effort is misplaced. 

Doing the Right Thing: The Leadership Perspective     

“Doing the right thing” focuses on effectiveness, ensuring that your actions align with larger goals, values and long-term vision. It’s about setting the right priorities and choosing actions that lead to meaningful outcomes. For leaders, this might mean stepping back from the day-to-day grind to question: Are we addressing the most important issues? Are we pursuing the right objectives? 

This concept goes beyond management and into the realm of leadership. It’s the difference between being a competent executor and a strategic visionary. 

Striking the Balance     

The real challenge lies in integrating these ideas. Leaders must first identify the “right thing”, a goal or purpose that resonates with their organisation’s mission. Then, they must implement strategies to achieve it appropriately, with discipline, efficiency and precision. 

When leaders focus purely on execution (doing things right), they may overlook the need to adapt direction and purpose (doing the right thing), the same dynamic that underpins successful resilience strategies such as building resilience as a leadership skill.

For example, a team might focus on delivering a product to market faster (doing things right), but if the product doesn’t solve a real customer problem, the effort misses the mark. Conversely, chasing an ambitious goal without a well-thought-out process can lead to wasted resources and frustration. 

When teams face uncertainty, leaders must not only keep operations running smoothly (doing things right) but also revisit priorities and direction (doing the right thing). Our article on helping teams handle ambiguity explores this dual challenge.

Efficient execution often relies on clarity of communication (doing things right) but true leadership also demands choosing the right message for the right audience (doing the right thing) as discussed in our piece on communicating with impact.

Drucker’s Lesson for Leaders Today    

Drucker’s insight is as relevant now as it was decades ago. It’s tempting to equate productivity with progress, but leaders must resist the urge to mistake motion for momentum. Taking the time to reflect on what you’re doing and how you’re doing it ensures that your team’s energy is channelled into efforts that truly matter. 

As Drucker might put it, effectiveness without efficiency risks chaos, and efficiency without effectiveness risks irrelevance. The key is to embrace both with equal care.

If this resonates with you or highlights an area you’d like to strengthen, let’s explore how coaching can help you develop this invaluable leadership skill further. Get in touch to discuss further - e: enquiries@managingchange.org.uk or arrange a free discovery call.