Recently I was asked to prepare a mini-lecture on the differences between managers and leaders. Here is an excerpt which I hope you will find interesting. The bottom line is that they are different and both absolutely necessary to our organizations.
You may have heard it said that with a good leader, you don’t necessarily need a strong manager, or that with a great manager, it isn’t critical to have an inspirational leader. One or the other is sufficient. However, both of these views are flawed. Great organizations need leaders and managers to work together as a single congruent force that inspires people to move forward to the future and has a quality system in place to get them there. While there are times when a single individual may be gifted in both administrating the tasks of management and practicing the influence of leadership, often times these are possessed by separate people who excel at one or the other. Let’s break down what this looks like.
Back in 1985, Bennis and Nanus argued that there was a distinct difference between managers and leaders when they coined a phrase which is often quoted and paraphrased to this day. It said, “Managers are people who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right things.” A few years later, Kotter clarified the difference when he stated, “The overriding function of management is to provide order and consistency to organizations, whereas the primary function of leadership is to produce change and movement.”
Northouse breaks down these two roles by the tasks which each performs.
The manager is involved in planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem-solving.
Leaders establish direction, set strategies, communicate goals, build commitment among the people, inspire, energize, and empower the team to action.
Going back to Bennis in 1989 he made the following differentiation which drills down into the details that further show the fact that the two jobs are unique:
- Managers administer; leaders innovate
- The manager is a copy; the leader is an original
- Managers maintain; leaders develop
- Managers focus on systems and structure; leaders focus on people
- Managers rely on control; leaders inspire trust
- Managers have a short-range view; leaders have a long-range perspective
- Managers ask how and when; leaders ask what and why
- Managers always have their eye on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon
- Managers imitate; leaders originate
- Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge it
- Managers are the classic good soldier; leaders are their own person
In 2002, Daft expanded these lists showing what might be considered a bias toward leaders as being superior to managers. He suggested that leaders grow and nurture attachments with the team, exploiting their emotional intelligence to get the best from them, while in contrast, he branded the manager as cold, controlling and set apart from team members.
You may or may not agree with Bennis or Daft’s assessments, because you may know managers and leaders who share qualities in each category. You may have worked for someone who possesses all of both. However, it is clear that there are many differences between the two roles.
Unfortunately for those who are in positions of management, like Daft, the tendency has been to consider managers as lower on the organizational food chain, and that leaders are revered and admired. This is very evident in the modern cartoon Dilbert which casts managers as uncaring, bottom-line-motivated automatons whose daily thrill is to suck the joy out of the working environment for the rank-and-file employees. Again, this view of managers is false, but it is the stereotype. Fortunately, the general views of each role are gradually coming to a center point where both are valued and appreciated.
Both managers and leaders are necessary. Take the manager away and you might have an enthusiastic and committed workforce, but without a strategic plan to accomplish their goals. Take the leader away and you may have systems that will make the trains run on time, but without a destination where those trains are headed, so they remain stalled on the tracks at the station.
Again, both are necessary and must work in tandem to be of optimum benefit to their organization, which is supported by a 2015 article that explored the differences between managing and leading. In it, Ellis and Abbott stated, “Leadership and management are not diametrically opposed—they are different sides of the same coin. Different situations require the application of different skill sets.” They also go on to acknowledge that both skill sets can reside in the same person,” although not all the time.
As you can see, these two roles are very different but equally necessary to our organizations. Regardless of the role which you fill, keep in mind that we need leaders who can manage and managers who can lead. It all needs to get done.
Lead well.