Leadership Turn

Leader/manager = leadager

by Miki Saxon on April 29th, 2008

Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: quil

Nick McCormick’s comment left on George Ambler’s Leaders vs. Managers….. Are they really different? did a great job summing up my feelings on this perpetual controversy.

George cites Warren Bennis’ statement “There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct. Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial”

In part Nick said, “To be sure, for a person to be a good manager, s/he must have many leadership traits. I like your last comment which references leading first then managing. Good leaders are good managers and vice versa….Leadership and management are very tightly intertwined. Ignoring characteristics of one is done at the expense of the other.”

I believe that they’re more than just intertwined, I believe the combination is what facilitates the adjectives ‘good’, ‘mediocre’, ‘bad’ and various shades in-between when people discuss those for whom they work.

George uses the following checklist from Bennis’ On Becoming A Leader to critique his own performance.

Being a bit of a heretic I thought that starting tomorrow it would be interesting to critique one or two items a day in light of today’s modern workforce and I sincerely hope that many of you will weigh in with your own thoughts.

• The manager administers; the leader innovates.
• The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
• The manager maintains; the leader develops.
• The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
• The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
• The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.
• The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
• The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
• The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.
• The manager imitates; the leader originates.
• The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
• The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
• The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Share This

Related Stories

• Leader vs. manager 1/7
• Leader + manager = leadager (part 3)
• Leader + manager = leadager (part 1)
• Leader vs. manager 7/7
• Leader + manager = leadager (part 2)

POSTED IN: About leadership, Leadership Quotes, Leadership Skills, Leadership resources, Management, Reading Recommendations, What do you think?