Leadership Versus Management

By Author: John Beth
Total Articles: 17
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Leadership and management roles are quite often confused. In reality, they are two very different unique posts undertaken by separate individuals. Leaders are often known for their ability to envision and communicate the strategic vision of the organisation while managers are often known for their ability to get the task at hand completed.

Where management is more about processes and is mostly concerned with organisational systems, following the protocol dictated by the hierarchical structure and communication channels, leadership is often focused on motivation, and is reliant upon both personality traits and behavioural tendencies combined with carefully tailored management skills.

Management leadership training often emphasises the tangible; focusing primarily on measurable performance indicators which are set with the intention of gaining operational efficiencies over time. Practitioners of the various management philosophies rely heavily on management tools for inspiration and to provide guidance for effective communication. Mangers tend to focus less on high level strategy and are more concerned ...
... with operational and short term strategies, often using a particular management style to accomplish their particular goals.

Leadership, on the other hand, involves both hard and soft management skills, however it is also reliant upon the capability to motivate and inspire the entire organisation with the hopes of aligning a greater vision with the corporate strategy. Often, placing emphasis on the intangible, leaders are able to create and communicate high level strategy to the entire organisation using emotional intelligence and tenacity to propel their mission. Leaders often contribute greatly to the culture of an organisation, setting the tone of the working environment and providing a framework for norms.

It can be argued whether or not leadership can be taught through management leadership training programmes. The argument lies with the statement that true leaders are born and not raised. Leaders like, Lee Iacooca, whom transformed Ford, President Bill Clinton, who re-built an economy or Boris Johnson, who has made a reality out of his visionary programmes for the city, were not formally trained for leadership.

Management and leadership training programmes are, of course, still valuable resource not only for teaching extremely useful management tools and techniques that assist in communication, but also because they allow for the future manager to discover which management style best suits their personalities and corporate environment.

Both managers and leaders are invaluable resources for any organisation. Managers provide assurance that operational excellence is a top priority while leaders ensure that a high level strategy is in place. An organisation should not overlook the positive effects that management leadership training can have for the entire company.

Jonathan Beth has served as a consultant in management leadership training
and business education programs. His recenlty launched marketing course is considered as one of the best in the industry.