There are subtle differences betweenleadership versus management.
“Leadership” comes from the Norse and Anglo Saxon language.It means “path”, “journey” or “route”. It isfocused on looking ahead and being visionary.
“Management” comes from the Latin language. It means”hand”. It is focused on being “hands on” or controllingresources such as people, materials and money.
Why is Leadership Important?
Traditionally, managers controlled abusiness and were promoted on the basis of technical rather than interpersonal skills.
As the pace of change began to move rapidly in business, the idea of leadershipversus management came to to the forefront.
Businesses looked to people who could seea way forward in uncertain times, people who would inspire others and gainrespect.
It is accepted that a business will notsurvive if it is operated by leaders or managers alone. The skills ofmanagement and leadership combined are needed to grow any business.
How does Leadership Differ fromManagement?
If you are responsible for leading ormanaging others, be aware of the difference between leadership and managementand which is most appropriate at any given time.
For example, giving feedback to employeescould be seen as either a management or a leadership task, depending on the wayit is carried out. Will your employees get feedback on the speed and efficiencyof how they performed against deadlines? (management focus) or will they begiven feedback on the process used to meet those deadlines; what went well andnot so well, what they learned from the experience, with a focus on developingtheir skills in the future?(leadership focus).
How can we Develop Leaders?
Performance based employee appraisalsystems have tended to reward management skills. If businesses want to developmore leadership vs management skills in their team, they need to rewardleadership qualities such as good communication skills, how well they inspireothers and their role in developing high performing teams.
How do you Identify Good Leaders?
Measuring leadership vs management ischallenging as leadership tends to be less tangible. Also, there is no singleleadership model that works; if you look at the leaders you admire, you willfind that they all have different attributes and ways of working.
Leaders appeal to your emotions. It hasbeen proven that the brain is stimulated by emotional thoughts 3000 timesfaster than rational thoughts. This fact alone shows the importance ofdeveloping your leadership skills even if you are in a management role.
