A couple of months ago, I wrote a post titled Leadership vs. Management. I followed it up with another on the topic titled, So, You Wanna Be a Leader . . . “ The core of both posts is my strong belief that leadership and management are two very different skills that are frequently thought of as one. I contend that there are very few people with great management AND great leadership abilities. Recognition of this fact will general help people be better leaders AND better managers.
Recently, I stumbled upon a site, BuildingBrands (no affiliation),that has a great entry titled, Are You a Manager or a Leader? There are several definitions and anecdotes that make the difference between leaders and managers more clear. I especially like the author’s use of “contrasting words” to describe the two disciplines.
| MANAGERS
administer
are a copy
maintain
systems/structure focus
control
short-term
how/when
bottom line
imitate
accept
good soldier
do things right |
LEADERS
innovate
are an original
develop
people focus
trust
long-range
what/why
horizon
originate
challenge
own person
do the right thing |
While I don’t agree with all of the author’s contrasts – good managers are originals in their own right and innovate constantly, I think his table points out the contrasting qualities of each function and helps emphasize how different they actually are.
It’s a great web site. Check it out.
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