In this post, I want to contrast management and leadership, which are very different and yet often confused. Sharon D’Orsie, an assistant professor of environmental safety and health at the University of Southern Maine, in a August 2004 article in Professional Safety, provides clarification. She describes management as a function that “deals with the complexity of an organization and its ability to successfully function with order and consistency,” and includes among its typical actions: “planning, budgeting, staffing and controlling.” Re leadership, she states that “leadership involves setting a direction and implementing change,” and includes among its primary functions: “aligning, motivating and inspiring people.” She goes on to say that “Leadership means setting a direction, then aligning and motivating people to make the vision a reality.” Author Warren Bennis couches the distinction similarly, “Management is getting people to do what needs to be done. Leadership is getting people to want to do what needs to be done. Managers push. Leaders pull. Managers command. Leaders communicate.” And, author Tom Peters puts it this way, “management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” And Frances Hesselbein further narrows the distinction in saying that “Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do.
Taken together, these quotes shape management and leadership as distinctly different but compatible and intertwining pursuits. And this is where the confusion lies. It is so very easy for managers to stray into leadership and for leaders to manage. But, is it wrong for managers to demonstrate leadership qualities and for leaders to likewise manage as well as lead? Although I think leaders should be thoroughly focused on leading, there are times when leaders must manage as well … especially if leading a small organization/company and certainly if that leader has direct reports. And re managers, learning leadership while doing is a critically important part of their growth, so I submit that managers should be given the opportunity to utilize their leadership skills. However, there are drawbacks with both.
There needs to be a clear distinction between management and leadership, or confusion will command the day. A staff needs to know who their leader is … who is setting direction and to whom they are ultimately accountable. And leaders who are so in the trench that they feel they must manage as well as lead often muddy things both for their managers and for the people those managers oversee. A true leader hires the right managers, supports them maximally, provides them with direction and resources, and turns them loose to accomplish good works. For leaders to be effective, they need to inspire confidence, belief, loyalty and trust in those whom they lead. This is not easily achieved if the leader is not willing or able to demonstrate similar qualities in the way in which they work with and treat their managers and other staff. To be effective, leaders need to be out of the management trenches … standing atop those trenches, where their vision and influence can grow. Getting bogged down with the trivia that is the daily life of the manager is an absolute killer … it robs the leader of both time, which is always fleeting, and effectiveness.
Leaders need to lead and managers need to manage. This is when both are most effective. This is when progress is most achievable.
Author Cross-references:
Warren G. Bennis: Also see posts 1/14/09, 2/6/09, 5/1/09, 8/17/09, 11/11/09, 12/5/09, 2/24/10
Sharon D’Orsie: None
Frances Hasselbein: None
Tom Peters: None
Key Word Cross-references:
Influence: Also see posts 12/8/08, 2/25/09, 3/29/10
Inspiration/Motivation: Also see posts 1/16/09, 2/3/09, 2/18/09, 2/25/09, 5/17/09, 6/5/09, 6/26/09, 9/9/09, 2/24/10, 4/19/10
Management – Leadership Contrast: None
Trust: Also see posts 12/12/08, 12/16/08, 12/5/09, 5/26/10
Vision: Also see posts 5/17/09, 12/5/09, 3/12/10
on Leadership ... by Steven Davis, CAE 
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