Management vs Leadership

Blah, blah is there really a difference?  Does it really matter?

The answer is yes there is a difference, and it sort of matters.

The difference

Leadership tends to involve leading (funny that!) i.e. creating a destination and inspiring others to join you on the journey to it.  Leadership requires vision, courage, inspiring and modelling.

There is a difference between management and leadership but what does it mean to your role?

Management is a more nuts and boltsy.  It requires being a great interpreter so you can make the vision relevant to people, and you can clearly articulate their role in making the vision a reality.  It also requires putting the necessary things in place to enable people to contribute their best towards achieving the vision.

The relevance

It is almost like things are created twice.  Once in the leadership (concept) reality, and then second in the management (physical) reality.

It sounds tidy but it isn't.  There is all sorts of gaps between concept and physical, which leads us to the reality.

The reality

Most management or leadership roles are a combination of both management and leadership elements, just to varying degrees.  In fact most leadership/management roles are made up of:

• Leadership - vision, inspiring
• Management - interpreting and enabling
• Technician - doing

Quick self-review

Stop now and consider what proportion your role is made up of.  Then compare it to how you currently spend your time.  Any gaps?  Identify one thing right now that you can do immediately to start to close the gap.

Contact us today if you would like to develop your management skills, or see the dates of our next Managing for Results Training workshop. 

River Empowerment Ltd provide the following Management and Leadership tools, training and consulting services: