Different

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

The debate between leadership and management has been raging for years. The distinction between management a leadership is useful one, in that it help a person to reflect on their own behavior by asking, “Am I really leading?”

So what is the differences between Managing and Leading?

In his book “On Becoming a Leader”, Warren Bennis describes the differences between managers and leaders:

* The manager administers; the leader innovates.
* The manager protects and maintains; the leader develops.
* The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on direction.
* The manager relies on aligning people and systems; the leader inspiring people toward the future.
* The manager embraces reality; the leader investigates it.
* The manager focuses on the day-to-day; the leader keeps a long-range perspective.
* The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
* The manager has his or her eye on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.
* The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
* The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
*** The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing. BOTH ARE NEEDED!

Another influential thinker on the distinction between management and leadership is John Kotter. In his book, “What Leaders Really Do”, John makes the important observations:

* “Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary actions. Both are necessary for success in a complex and volatile business environment.”
* “Most U.S. corporations today are overmanaged and underled.”
* “Strong leadership with weak management is no better, and is sometimes actually worse, than the reverse.”
* “Management is about coping with complexity… Without good management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic… Good management brings a degree of order and consistency…. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change… More change always demands more leadership.”

The fact is that leadership and management are

both

important - they are two distinctive systems of action - both are necessary, as they seek to meet different needs.