Management vs. Leadership

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”  - Peter Drucker

To differentiate a manager from a leader is to differentiate goodness from greatness.

In today’s society, there is a surplus of qualified managers. Focusing on productivity, ensuring the execution of tasks in the most efficient way is what managers do best. Their focus on performance improvement, maximum efficiency, and present concerns rather than a future vision. 

Leaders are focused on people, not just productivity. They are more concerned with the essence more than just the end result. 

The above chart takes a look at some of the differences between leaders and managers; there are quite a few. Though there are definitely stark differences between leaders and managers, the roles are not mutually exclusive. 

There is a need for both managers AND leaders. It is important to focus on the bottom line of and organization, but it's even more so important to have vision, develop individuals while strengthening the organization, and inspiring trust. Both management and leadership are important to an organization. Initially, it is important to establish a sense of trust, innovation, and originality. For the sustainability, it is also important to administer and focus on productivity and results. 

Leadership and Variables

lead·er·ship

The ability to influence the activities of others, through the process of communication, toward the statement of a goal.

If not under the direction of the Holy Spirit, imperfect humans influencing the activities of other imperfect humans can be disastrous. - Christina Dykes

Leaders are often described as having a behavior set that includes: confidence, honesty, decisiveness, initiative, and intelligence.
The truth is, being a leader is no easy task. Leadership is a skill that requires practice, discernment, and an effective blend of having the organization's needs in mind, as well as the followers best interest at heart. 

Leadership, opposed to management, seeks the voluntary participation. Leadership is more concerned with vision than vices. Constantly seeking to inspire, leadership is all about getting people excited about getting a job done, while management is all about getting the job. 

The Philosophy of Leadership

There are three styles of leadership: autocratic, participative, and free rein.

Autocratic style - leaders that fall into this category are structured, "tellers" and seek to lead in a direct manner. Though most people might say this style of leadership is opposed to sparking excitement and self-motivation among followers, there are pros. Some situations require leaders to make decisive and exact decisions - especially in emergency situations.

Participative style - This leadership style is all about involving members of a group in the decision-making process. Proven to be effective in most situations, participative leadership helps workers feel empowered in the decision-making process, at ease with decisions, and helps team members to feel important. Though this leadership style seems to be complete in its effectiveness, there are cons to this style of leadership as well. Some employees might feel as though this style of leadership is merely manipulating, instead of helping them.

Free rein- This laissez-faire approach does not create a leaderless environment. In this style, leaders are liaisons and resource. Laissez-faire is often found in an educational setting. This style can turn into chaos. Employees and managers still need to establish goals, and organizational harmony.  

There is no perfect leadership style. Each have their pros and cons. Effective leaders must be effective given the situation, circumstances, followers, and the type of leader. A true leader will tailor their style, and adjust it to whatever variables present.