Management vs Leadership

Hence, the essence of management is predictability and order – to produce short-term results – for customers, for stockholders, etc.

In contrast, the main three things that the leader does are:

Hence, the essence of leadership is change – to produce long-term results – like new breakthrough products, new markets, etc.

Management deals mostly with the status quo – the existing state of affairs.
Leadership deals mostly with change – the future state of affairs.

Structures and systems are tools that managers tend to use more.
Culture and vision are tools that leaders tend to use more.

Management deals more with the immediate future.
Leadership deals more with the long-term future.

I repeat: management vs leadership, what does it boil down to?

Another management vs leadership distinction:

The CEO must behave most of the time as a leader – if s/he doesn’t, s/he is placing his/her organization at risk, especially now-days with the increasing rate of change.

The first-time manager must behave most of the time as a manager – however, this does NOT mean that there is no room for leadership behaviors in a first-time managerial role. On the contrary: It is vital that distributed leadership be present throughout the organization.

Another distinction between management vs leadership that I find practical and useful is the distinction made by Marcus Buckingham in “The One Thing You Need to Know: … About Great Managing, Great Leadership, and Sustained Individual Success” (Free Press, New York, NY: 2005).

The roles of the manager and the roles of the leader are undeniably complex. Without denying this complexity, Buckingham embarked on a search to find out what is the one deep insight that underpins the managerial role and the leadership role respectively, and that all great managers and all great leaders do. As a result of his research, he affirms the following:

Voilà.

This distinction in the Management vs Leadership discussion should help you gain clarity with roles and responsibilities, with organizational design, and most of all, with your management and leadership practice.

To learn more about the skills you need to manage the performance of your direct reports, go to our Management Skills page.

To learn more about the skills you need to lead the performance of your entire organization, go to our Leadership Skills page.

To keep on learning about other useful skills, go back to the previous page, or click here.

If you would like your team and / or organization to lead and manage more effectively using this management vs leadership definition, through our speaking or consulting services, please click on this link.