We hear so much about the importance of leadership – but what does it really mean and how does it differ from management? After all, leaders often find themselves in management roles. Here we’ve identified the critical differences between leadership and management, based on a survey of articles written by experts on leadership.
- Management is for things; leadership is for people
As the Harvard Business Review says schedules, programs, budgets and contracts have to be managed. People are led. These are different skills and should be classified as such.
- Management for people is mechanical and task-based
When you “manage” people, you assign work, evaluate productivity, forecast, plan and control as this article by The Wall Street Journal states. This view takes your employees to be just one aspect of a piece of machinery that is infinitely interchangeable.
- Leadership gets the best results out of people
Liz Ryan for Forbes makes the case that leaders get the best results from their team by allowing their employees to discover their personal work styles. Because unlike machines, humans are creative. People are at their best when leaders nurture this.
- Leadership is about “letting go”
While management holds on to control furiously, leadership is the opposite, according to Fast Company. Leadership allows autonomy to their employees and fosters trust within the team. By allowing for autonomy, leadership stimulates growth and learning for both the employees and the leader himself.
It seems this is what the experts think leadership is all about. But we know leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. Reader, what do you think separates a leader from a manager?
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