Today I want to discuss management and leadership, in particular, an overview of each and the distinct differences.
Management
Management is generally considered a position of power and control in most organizations. In small companies, owners typically assume the role of the defacto manager, and in larger companies, managers are either promoted from within, or hired from the outside, based on experience and past results.
Many people naturally expect that the “best” person in an existing role should be the first considered for manager of that role, but this is not necessarily the best approach to finding a good manager. One of the best examples of this conundrum occurs when hiring a sales manager – the best salesman does not necessarily make the best sales manager, because a different skill set is required for these responsibilities.
While there are many descriptions of management, this is one of my favorite: management is the practice of overseeing work, people, process, technology and other resources to maximize effectiveness and get results in an efficient way.
Leadership
Leadership is different.
Leaders cannot be given “power”, they develop and earn their following by having strong values, being who they are and doing what they say they will do. This is personal character and integrity, the foundation of leadership. Leaders can exist at any level in an organization or society because leadership is not a role and it is not a position, it is reflected in your attitude, how you carry yourself and the way you make others feel about themselves.
Leadership is the practice of creating an exciting vision, motivating and inspiring others to follow, guiding a team to fulfill their vision and continuing to build and coach their teams for the future.
These terms, management and leadership, are often mistakenly interchanged; there are distinct differences. Leaders can be, but don’t have to be, managers, and managers are not necessarily leaders. The key difference is where they derive their power. The manager’s power is given to him by title or position, but a leader is given power by the attention of his followers. Here are a few more comparisons:
Management is more about skill.
Leadership is more about character.
Managers do things right.
Leaders do the right thing.
Managers get someone else to do what needs to be done.
Leaders get someone else to want to do what needs to be done.
Managers are appointed to a position with “power.”
Leaders can exist at every level of an organization. Go forth to manage and lead, both are needed, but only Leaders change the world.
