Are leadership and management the same thing? Are leaders managers? Are managers supposed to be leaders?
In the course of conducting my business of helping individuals and organizations improve performance and productivity, I find lots of confusion regarding the difference between management and leadership. It’s not just my clients or workshop attendees who are confused. If you walk into your favorite bookstore and ask for a book on leadership, they’ll probably send you to the management shelves.
Dr. Warren Bennis, in his classic book, “On Becoming a Leader,” draws some interesting comparisons between the roles of managers and leaders. He’s not comparing the value of either; his point is simply that their respective roles are different.
Here a few of the contrasts:
| Managers Administer | Leaders Innovate |
| Managers Focus on Systems and Structures | Leaders Focus on People |
| Managers Maintain | Leaders Develop |
| Managers Ask “How & When?” | Leaders Ask “What & Why?” |
| Managers Initiate | Leaders Originate |
| Managers Watch the Bottom Line | Leaders Watch the Horizon |
| Managers Accept the Status Quo | Leaders Challenge the Status Quo |
The contrasts are clear. Managers and leaders have different roles and they do different things. Each contributes to the organization’s success in unique and interesting ways. Leaders want managers to manage and (smart) managers want leaders to lead.
But, you’re asking; “Isn’t there some overlap between the two?” The answer is …sometimes. Some managers are leaders and some leaders have the ability to manage, but not always.
The important thing is to understand the difference. Leaders cast the vision for what needs to get done and inspire followers to help them bring that vision to reality. Managers organize the work and measure the results.
Each role is critical to an organization’s success and every organization needs great leaders and great managers. If leadership and management work together to fulfill their respective roles, everybody wins. The organization stays competitive because its leaders are forward thinking. The organization is both efficient and effective because of good management systems.
The leadership – management partnership make for a very powerful team.
Tags: business, followers, inspire, leader, leadership, management, manager, role, success, vision
