Leadership Versus Management

How Leadership Differs From Management!

Leadership versus management, the fact is that being great at management does not necessarily equate to being a great leader.

So are you a manager or a leader? Although you may hear these two terms thrown out interchangeably, they are in fact two very different animals that require very different personality traits.

By learning whether you are more of a leader or more of a manager, you will gain the insight and self-confidence that comes with knowing more about yourself. The result is greater impact and effectiveness when dealing with others and running your business.

Leaders and Managers are differnt. We will discuss the different personality styles in leadership versus management; the attitudes each have towards goals, the basric conceptions of what work entails, their relationships with others, and their sense of self.

Finally, we will examine leadership development and discover what criteria are necessary for leaders to reach their full potential.

First, let's take a look at the difference in personality styles between leadership versus management.

Managers - emphasize rationality and control; are problem-solvers (focusing on goals, resources, organization structures, or people); often asking the question, "What problems have to be solved, and what are the best ways to achieve results so that people will continue to contribute to this organization?"; they are persistent, tough-minded, hard working, intelligent, analytical, tolerant and have goodwill toward others.

Leaders - are perceived as brilliant, but sometimes lonely; achieve control of themselves before they try to control others; can visualize a purpose and generate value in work; they are imaginative, passionate, non-conforming risk-takers.

Leadership versus management - have very different attitudes toward goals.

Managers - adopt impersonal, almost passive, attitudes toward goals; decide upon goals based on necessity instead of desire and are therefore deeply tied to their organization's culture; tend to be reactive since they focus on current information.

Leaders - tend to be actively focused on doing things now for the future since they hold a longer term vision, instead of reacting to current situations. They shape ideas; have a personal orientation toward goals; provide a vision that alters the way people think about what is desirable, possible, and necessary.

Leadership versus management conceptions of work.

Managers - view work as an enabling process; establish strategies and makes decisions by combining people and ideas; they continually coordinate and balance opposing views; are good at reaching compromises and mediating conflicts between opposing perspectives; they act to limit choice; tolerate practical, mundane work because of strong survival instinct which makes them risk-averse.

Leaders - develop new approaches to long-standing problems and open issues to new options; first, they use their vision to excite people and then develop a vison that give those images substance; they focus people on shared ideals and raise their expectations; and they work from high-risk positions because of their strong dislike of mundane work.

Leadership versus management - Managers and leaders have very different relations with others.

Managers - prefer working with others; report that solitary activity makes them anxious; are collaborative; maintain a low level of emotional involvement in relationships; attempt to reconcile differences, seek compromises, and establish a balance of power; relate to people according to the role they play in a sequence of events or in a decision-making process; focus on how things get done; maintain controlled, rational, and equitable structures; may be viewed by others as inscrutable, detached, and manipulative.

Leaders - maintain inner perceptiveness that they can use in their relationships with others; relate to people in intuitive, empathetic way; focus on what events and decisions mean to participants; attract strong feelings of identity; create systems where human relations may be turbulent, intense, and at times even disorganized for the purpose of long term growth.

Leadership versus management - The self-identity of managers versus leaders is strongly influenced by their past.

Managers - report that their adjustments to life have been straightforward and that their lives have been more or less peaceful since birth; have a sense of self as a guide to conduct and attitude which is derived from a feeling of being at home and in harmony with their environment; see themselves as conservators and regulators of an existing order of affairs with which they personally identify and from which they gain rewards; report that their role harmonizes with their ideals of responsibility and duty; perpetuate and strengthen existing institutions; display a life development process which focuses on socialization...this socialization process prepares them to guide institutions and to maintain the existing balance of social relations.

Leaders - reportedly have not had an easy time of it; lives are marked by a continual struggle to find some sense of order; do not take things for granted and are not satisfied with the status quo; report that their "sense of self" is derived from a feeling of profound separateness; may work in organizations, but they never belong to them; report that their sense of self is independent of work roles, memberships, or other social indicators of social identity; seek opportunities for change (i.e. technological, political, or ideological); support change; find their purpose is to profoundly alter human, economic, and political relationships; display a life development process which focuses on personal mastery... this process compels them to struggle for psychological and social change.

Development of leadership versus management.

As you can see, managers and leaders are very different types of people. It is important to remember that there are definite strengths and weaknesses of both types of individuals.

Managers are very good at maintaining the status quo and adding stability and order to our culture. However, they may not be as good at instigating change and envisioning the future.

On the other hand, leaders are very good at stirring people's emotions, raising their expectations, and taking them in new directions (both good and bad).

However, like artists and other gifted people, leaders often suffer from neuroses and have a tendency toward self-absorption and preoccupation.

If you are planning on owning your own business, you must develop management skills. However, what do you do if you believe you are, in fact, a leader - a diamond in the rough? What can you do to develop as a leader?

Throughout history, it has been shown that leaders need strong one-to-one relationships with teachers whose strengths lie in cultivating talent in order to reach their full potential. If you think you are a leader at heart, find a teacher that you admire - someone who you can connect with and who can help you develop your natural talents and interests.

Whether you reach "glory" status as a leader or not, you will grow in ways you never even imagined. And isn't that what life is about anyway? So what do you aspire to improve in? How do you compare leadership versus management?

The choice of leadership versus management is profound, and both are highly valuable to a strong organization.

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