Management versus Leadership – Part Two

Written by Judy W Bell on March 15, 2011. Posted in Leadership, Management

Do you want things done right? Or do you want to do the right things? The difference in these two approaches is often the difference between a manager and a leader. A manager is often concerned with the work habits/work choices/work strategy of her subordinates and company. For example:

Who arrives on time
Who abuses sick time
Have the ledgers been balanced
Are the month end reports ready
Which job recruiter will we use
Do we revise the vacation policy
How can we track transactions more effectively

A leader is often concerned with the relationships of the company within the community, global network, and inside the ranks as well as creativity, new ventures, and improved ROI. For example:

Why do we need so many brick & mortar locations
Why don’t we look at flex time and working from home
What are our immerging markets
Where are our immerging markets
Let’s gather some new investors
Define our A players and develop a plan to retain and reward them
Let’s look at our customer retention rates
Let’s develop a scorecard

The job of manager and the job of leader are both important roles. Managers are generally paid to get things done, i.e. task focused. A leader is usually charismatic by nature and has a people focus versus a task focus. Knowing the difference between the two is a Success Habit.