Much has been written and said about management and leadership over the last century. The question most often posed is whether there is a difference between managing and leading. The simple answer is yes. But separating the two is not so simple. More importantly, in today’s world, not only is it nearly impossible to separate management from leadership, it isn’t even practical or good.
Once upon a time — at the height of the industrial revolution and before the advent of the technological revolution — it was correct to call a manager just that…. a manager. The foreman of an industrial-era factory gave little thought to what was being produced or about the people producing it. His job was to follow orders, organize the work, assign the necessary tasks to the right people, coordinate the results, and ensure the job was done as ordered on time. The focus was efficiency. The typical foreman managed work; not people.
Today, management and leadership go hand-in-hand. They are not the same or synonymous but they are inextricable. If we were to boil it down to a singular statement, the manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate while the leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. But there is more to it than that. In today’s complex workplace, it is vital that every organization have people who can lead and people who can manage… preferably some who can do both. Unfortunately, there tends to be too much management and not enough leadership. What are the primary differences between leading and managing? Why is there a greater need for people who can lead? Continue reading