Leadership and Management

Leadership and Management are two words which are sometimes used interchangeably.  That's unfortunate because there are many leaders that are not managers, and many managers that are certainly not leaders.  We've continued to focus on the leadership aspects of career development, so in this article we're going to take a closer look at the differences between leadership and management.

Managers and Management

Management is loosely defined as the act of managing, supervising, or controlling.  The word "controlling" is really an important component of that definition.  An employee can manage a process, and they can manage another employee.  But the question is whether or not this manager is thought to possess leadership qualities.

Now some people may argue that there really isn't any difference between leadership and management, and they can cite some pretty compelling examples.  One of those examples might go something like this:

Anyone in management is automatically a leader because they are in control of another employee.  They can give orders, and the employees reporting to them are expected to carry out those orders or suffer the consequences.  The manager holds position power over those they supervise, and because of that reporting relationship they have become leaders.

In fact, this is actually a pretty good argument, and one that is hard to refute.  But if you've looked at our series on leadership styles, then you might remember reading about the coercive leadership style described in that article.  Some of these more aggressive leadership styles work pretty effectively when a turnaround is needed - but lower morale over time.  If the manager is using their position power over followers, then they're exhibiting the coercive style.

The test of true leadership abilities is being able to adapt to different work environments.  Going back to our example, if the manager used this style under the appropriate conditions, then they might have been very effective.  In the long term, none of these more aggressive styles are effective, and soon the followers may decide that they've had enough, and they may look for employment elsewhere.

Leaders and Leadership

Leadership on the other hand, is really the process, or style, that the manager uses to complete tasks or achieve objectives.  We started off this article by stating that not all managers were leaders.  Certainly there are some very ineffective managers that do not exhibit any of the true leadership styles.

These individuals are put in a role of responsibility, and do not communicate with their employees or support them in their efforts.  Thankfully, the incompetence of these managers is usually recognized pretty quickly, and they are usually reassigned or asked to quietly leave the company.

At the next level of managers, you will find individuals that are capable of exhibiting the more aggressive leadership styles discussed earlier.  While success might be theirs in the short term, eventually the organization evolves and they find out that their formula for success in the past no longer applies to the current situation.

Finally, we find those individuals that are skilled in the art of situational leadership.  They have been trained or have learned through life's lessons to identify the leadership style that is most effective under varying circumstances.  They have the ability to flex their leadership style, and can be effective in almost any role, and under a variety of conditions.

Conclusions on Leadership and Management

We're going to end this article the same way we started it by stating that all managers are not leaders.  There are some that show various degrees of leadership skills, but just because someone has granted them the title of "manager," or given them the opportunity to supervise another person does not make them a leader.

The ability to possess leadership qualities transcends a mere title that someone happens to hold.  If your fear is that you've been put in a management position, and you are not sure if you have what it takes to be an effective leader, than our advice to you would be to educate yourself on the subject and practice what you learn.

If you're an employee that happens to be saddled with a manager that is not a leader, all you need to do is have patience.  Eventually, this manager's incompetence will be recognized, and they will get what they deserve.  And you'll get what you deserve too; a manager that is also a leader.

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