Leadership vs. Management

How to balance the qualities of a leader with those of a manager.

All leaders must resolve the conflict between leadership and management. How do you separate the two? According to Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, "You lead people, and manage things."

John Kotter, a retired professor of organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, defines the two a bit differently. He says management is about coping with complexity (planning, budgeting, staffing, problem- solving), while leadership is about coping with change (setting direction, aligning people, motivating, inspiring).

Do you want to be both a leader and manager? Or would you prefer to be one and hire someone to take your less favored role?

Many executives are called "sales manager" or "store manager," but the term "management" is sometimes denigrated. High-technology conglomerate United Technologies has written: "People don't want to be managed. They want to be led. Whoever heard of a 'world manager?' A 'world leader,' yes. We know of educational leaders, political leaders, religious leaders, scout leaders, community leaders, labor leaders, and business leaders. They lead. They don't manage. The leader's carrot always wins over the manager's stick."

The Paradox

And yet, management is a critical part of leadership. I think management gets a bad rap. After all, without management, leadership lacks structure. Management makes a company efficient and profitable. Managers make quotas, meet deadlines, give and take orders, evaluate others, and get the most out of themselves.

Leadership is about change and improvement. A leader inspires constituents to dig deep and to give more. A leader sets standards, exceeds goals, initiates actions, and draws the most out of others.

While the leader empowers, the manager controls. Leadership changes the world and management maintains it.

The fundamental purpose of management is to keep the current system functioning well. The fundamental purpose of leadership is to produce useful change.

The best leaders finesse the struggle between leadership and management. How should a leader balance the two? Each constituent and situation requires its own blend. Management guru Ken Blanchard calls that strategy "situational leadership." Yet how many of our sales managers leave new salespeople to themselves? Training should begin with greater oversight and narrower restrictions. Teach values and culture and establish standards, then closely supervise to ensure understanding of the rules and compliance.

Later, employees will require less direction and supervision. You can shift the dynamic between management and leadership. From the management realm, the only remnants will be the controls of the company's systems, values, mission, and standards of performance.

Sam Allman is CEO of Allman Consulting and Training Inc. He is also a motivational speaker, consultant and author, whose books include Heart and Mind Selling. For more information, visit www.allmanconsulting.com.

Originally published Oct. 1, 2009

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