Every so often, someone declares “We don’t need managers, we need leaders.” Statements like this imply that people are either one or the other, and that management is somehow less valuable than leadership.
I don’t buy the idea that management and leadership are mutually exclusive or that one is more valuable than the other.
Organizations need BOTH.
John Kotter lists these different management and leadership activities in a number of his books. I paraphrase here:
Management is…
Leadership is…
Effective people are able to do things from both lists. The emphasis may shift – more “leadership” actions and behaviors in some positions and situations, more “management” actions and behaviors in others.
I’ve worked with people who were all “leadership.” When they lacked management behaviors – follow-through and attention to practical implementation –they left chaos in their wakes (and didn’t actually produce much useful change).
I’ve worked with people who were mostly “management.” And in some cases, it worked okay, as long as they had enough personal warmth to navigate human relationships. (In accounting areas, you don’t necessarily want creative ideas or big charisma – think Enron.)
