Management is a set of well-known processes, like planning, budgeting, structuring jobs, staffing jobs, measuring performance and problem-solving, which help an organization to predictably do what it knows how to do well.

Leadership is entirely different. It is associated with taking an organization into the future, finding opportunities that are coming at it faster and faster and successfully exploiting those opportunities. Leadership is about vision, about people buying in, about empowerment and, most of all, about producing useful change.

Companies need management and leadership at different times. When a company is just starting out, leadership is paramount. The founder’s job, more than anything else, is to inspire other people to believe enough to commit time and resources to an unproven company and product. As companies grow, more and more structure begins to creep in. More sales prospects, customers, suppliers, and employees means a lot more organization is needed. Filing cabinets, if nothing else. But especially as the customer base grows beyond the initial friends and early adopters, rapid, repeatable service and quality becomes important. Management comes to the fore as the organization struggles just to keep doing what it always wanted to do.

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Table manually copied and reformatted from Crossderry and Elizabeth’s post. Credit: Adapted from Franklin, M. and Tuttle, S. (2008) Leadership Skills for Project and Programme Managers, TSO: London, p. 9.

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 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’s eye is 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.

There is also concern that leadership is more of an art, while management is closer to being a science. Many organizations pride themselves on encouraging leadership skills in their staffs throughout their employment levels. Chairing committees, leading teams, and initiating new products and services are ways in which a leader can be nurtured. Participating in management development programs also provides an avenue of growth in an organization, especially when it involves planning, staffing, and financial elements. Many of these functions are not fully delineated or emphasized in professional education programs, and must be learned through work experience and outside volunteer activities. This is especially true in the field of library and information science, and poses an ongoing challenge to new and past graduates.

Leaders and Managers can be compared on the following basis:

Basis	Manager	Leader
Origin	A person becomes a manager by virtue of his position.	A person becomes a leader on basis of his personal qualities.
Formal Rights	Manager has got formal rights in an organization because of his status.	Rights are not available to a leader.
Followers	The subordinates are the followers of managers.	The group of employees whom the leaders leads are his followers.
Functions	A manager performs all five functions of management.	Leader influences people to work willingly for group objectives.
Necessity	A manager is very essential to a concern.	A leader is required to create cordial relation between person working in and for organization.
Stability	It is more stable.	Leadership is temporary.
Mutual Relationship	All managers are leaders.	All leaders are not managers.
Accountability	Manager is accountable for self and subordinates behaviour and performance.	Leaders have no well defined accountability.
Concern	A manager’s concern is organizational goals.	A leader’s concern is group goals and member’s satisfaction.
Followers	People follow manager by virtue of job description.	People follow them on voluntary basis.
Role continuation	A manager can continue in office till he performs his duties satisfactorily in congruence with organizational goals.	A leader can maintain his position only through day to day wishes of followers.
Sanctions	Manager has command over allocation and distribution of sanctions.	A leader has command over different sanctions and related task records. These sanctions are essentially of informal nature.

Figure 1

Figure 1 expresses the dependent nature of leadership on management as suggested by Professor Sutton. Thus, the difference between leading and managing is emotional.

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows, the greater degree of change we require, the more important leadership becomes; good management alone likely won’t be enough.

Both leadership and management are essential for individual as well as organizational success.

A Reflection Beyond Roles

At a deeper level, the difference between management and leadership reflects two important sides of human responsibility.

Management helps create order, structure, and efficiency.

Leadership helps create meaning, trust, and inspiration.

Good management may help organizations operate smoothly.

But good leadership often helps people feel valued, motivated, and connected to a larger purpose.

Behind every organization are real people:

employees,
customers,
communities,
and teams trying to work together toward shared goals.

Technology may continue to change how organizations operate,
but some values remain consistently important:

integrity,
communication,
responsibility,
empathy,
and trust.

Because in the end, successful organizations are not built only through systems and procedures.

They are also built through human relationships, shared purpose, and the ability to guide people with wisdom and responsibility.

SU

Management Vs Leadership

A Reflection Beyond Roles

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