For years, management and leadership were used interchangeably.  In fact, they were frequently thought to be the same.  Like cheetahs and leopards, managers and leaders may be in the same family, but they are different animals.  Leadership and management are different! So, what’s the difference between management and leadership?

What is the Role of a Manager?

Management is about organizational efficiency!

Management has a heavy focus on process. It is about action planning. Managers often ask your “how” and “who” questions in an organization. Management is about appealing to the brain through planning, organization, controlling, and directing.   Managers generally have a formal title in an organization and they thus have formal organizational power.

Management is really about doing things right!  It is concerned with implementation and the process by which things are done in an organization.

What will we find managers doing in an organization?

* Managers direct others to follow them.
* Managers administer efficient operations by maintaining the status quo.
* Managers control those who work with them.
* Managers have a shorter term view of operations.

Managers are critical to organizational efficiency.

What is the Role of a Leader?

Leadership is about organizational effectiveness!

Leadership has a heavy focus on strategic direction.  It is about vision. Leaders often ask your “what” and “why” questions in an organization.  One does not have to have a formal title in the organization to be a leader. In fact many informal leaders exist in any organization and savvy managers know it is in their best interest and in the best interest of the organization to work with these individuals as allies.

Leadership is really about doing the right thing!  They are concerned with the strategic direction of the organization and they inspire others to follow them. Leadership is about appealing to the heart through motivation, influence, and persuasion.

So,what, exactly are the typical activities of a leader?

* Leaders inspire others to want to follow them.
* Leaders promote innovative operations by challenging the status quo.
* Leaders develop those who work with them.
* Leaders have a long term view of operations.

Leaders are critical to organizational effectiveness.

Leaders Are Not Everything!

There has been a trend in business communications to minimize the role of a manager and stress leadership above other attributes.  The fact is however that a healthy organization needs a good mixture of managers and leaders if it is to remain viable.

When an organization consists of leaders only, not much gets done.  There are significant struggles for power as leaders with differing agendas vie for influence.  Also, too much leadership and too little management leads to chaos as operational objectives are continually modified.

Effective leadership creates a healthy tension in the organization where the right activities are performed at the right times.  Ineffective leadership creates chaos as the organization is in a perpetual state of unrest.

I have known great leaders who were terrible managers!  They could inspire you greatly but the minute they got involved in getting the work done (managing) they destroyed all of their inspiration. Their ineffectiveness as managers discouraged those they had previously inspired.

Managers are Not Everything!

Managers get results and they are efficient. But, efficiency does not mean one is always effective.  When an organization is unbalanced with too many managers and too few leaders, it is efficient at doing the work right. However, it does not do the right things because it lacks leadership. As a result, mediocrity sets in as the company puts more emphasis on process than vision.

I have known managers who were terrible leaders!  They could plan, execute, and direct others, but no one was inspired to do their best for them or for the organization.  These managers did not have a clear direction of what they wanted to achieve and staff in their organization display a “going through the motions” quality to their work.

What is the Optimal Solution?

In a perfect world, every individual manager will have a balanced combination of both managerial and leadership skills.  However, this exists only in a perfect world–not the world where we live!  Some business professionals do have this balance while others do not. In general, effective staffing practices will provide a healthy balance of leaders and managers for an organization.

So, if you’re a great leader, who is less effective at management, what can you do to improve your effectiveness? 

Or, if you’re a great manager, who is less effective at leadership, what can you do to improve your effectiveness?

Here’s several things that you can do:

• Develop your skills further through continuing education. Take a management or leadership seminar and learn some of the tools to improve your skills in either area.
• Identify someone you trust (and who truly has your best interests at heart) who excels at management or leadership and speak with them about how they handle situations in the workplace. If you can, schedule time to shadow them in their workplace so you can watch them in action (a picture is worth a thousand words).
• Delegate projects in these areas to others who work for you and who are more skilled than you at managing or leading. For example, if you’re a middle or senior manager, hire other managers who differ from you and who complement your skill set. 

Here’s an example from my professional experience that shows what I mean:

One of my best bosses I ever had was a great leader. He saw the big picture of what needed to be done and would influence others to accept his vision.  However, he was not a good manager.  While he knew what he wanted, he could not organize or implement his strategy into the next week.

So, what did he do?

First, he knew his limitations.  He hired great managers to work for him. He had them develop the plans for his vision. He reviewed their plans and then he left them alone to implement the plan. He did not micro-manage them. Instead, he held them accountable for getting the results he wanted through their own methods.

The true mark of a great manager is knowing one’s limitations. For your own development, once you know your limitations in management or leadership do all that you can to minimize the impact of your limitations. Improve your own skills and don’t be afraid to use the right people to help you in your efforts.