Have you noticed, the buzz word going around at the moment is Leadership? Leadership this and leadership that, leadership for employees and leadership for staff. One thing I have noticed is that some people confuse leadership and management and in my opinion these two functions are the exact opposite of each other.
Let me explain. In any organisation there can only be one leader, this person provides the vision for the organisation, they can see a better future so clearly that they find it easy to communicate it to all they come in contact with. Really effective organisations are the ones where everyone buys into that vision and each plays their own individual part in making that vision a reality. Everyone can see clearly how following this leader will bring them to a better future and they do so by giving 100%.
Leaders by their nature are visionary and passionate, they see the big picture all the time, they have no time for the detail. Detail bores them, they want to get onto bigger and better stages so they can show as many people as possible why their way is the right way. They are most comfortable in large groups and at their happiest when explaining their vision and they do so with such passion that there is little doubt that at some stage it will become a reality.
Managers on the other hand are the people who have responsibility for a single function or group of functions that will contribute to the overall goal of the organisation. Management is done on a one to one basis. The manager has to make sure every single individual on their team knows exactly what is expected of them, the detail of their role and the implications of getting it wrong. They define the standards that are required and make sure they are followed through at all times.
A great manager will have a clear picture of their own area of responsibility, and then works constantly to make sure that their department delivers what is expected every time. Managers also must interact with other departments and find a way to ensure every objective is met with as much cooperation as possible. Some managers can become territorial and spend most of their time managing their boundaries; the best managers are also team players and actively seek out ways to make sure everyone’s interests are taken into account every time a change has to be made.
In the current business environment a large part of the manager’s job involves change, we have to continuously improve and deliver more with less, that is the challenge for business today, and it is the manager’s role to implement new systems and procedures to make this happen. The best way to do this has been covered previously, if you need a reminder it is to ensure that the talents of each person on the team are brought to the fore and they can see what has to be done and they are given an opportunity to use their talents every day to bring about the required result.
Leadership is about the masses, management is about the individual.
Leadership is about the vision; management is about the implementation of that vision
There can only be one leader, there can be many managers.
I hope this definition of leadership and management is useful to you in defining your own role and in discovering the best way to perform that role every single day. In a successful business there has to be both leadership and management – it is important they don’t get mixed up.