ol 2, USA, Way with words. By Murray Johannsen “Some leaders cannot manage— some managers cannot lead. ” In business and in government, one must be both good at both management and relationship effective as both a manager and a leader. These roles are extremely complex, typically requiring university degree(s) and thousands of hours of practice. Leadership and Management: They are not the Same Most people talk as though leadership and management are the same thing. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not understand this. This was discovered a few years ago when doing on-site training in TQM.
As part of a class exercise, participants where asked for a definition of Total Quality Management. Everyone got total right, there was even good consistency regarding quality. However, when it came to management, participants were all over the the place. There really wasn’t any consistent definition. This confusion extends even into the business schools. In fact, professors tend to lack clarity about the fundamental differences between what a leader does and what a manager does. The first five (planning, organizing, controlling, irecting, and coordinating) are often listed in the management 101 texts as the major functions of management. Certain conceptual skills such as decision making, strategy development, and problem solving seem to fit better in management verses the leadership area, but you can go either way..
Some professors like to say “Managers are decision makers. ” but that doesn’t seem quite right. A better description is, “Executives are decision makers— manager’s are problem solvers. ” However, some things some things should be managed and others should not. Leadership and Management: Understanding Leadership I don’t like to be managed. But if you lead me, I’ll follow you anywhere. ” — A comment heard in the halls of a large corporation Leadership is hard to understand, there are so many definitions, some of them bad ones. One can add to the list activities such as: * Counseling, * Coaching, * Teaching, * Mentoring. * It’s vital for senior individuals in positions of great responsibility to be able to play both roles: the boss who cannot manage will kill an organization just as fast as one who cannot lead. But the person who can do both, they are on the path to success.
