In the lexicon of leadership, words matter. Right now, people use the word “leader” and “manager” interchangeably. I don’t think many people think much about these two words when they use them. The difficulty is that they are actually two different words with very different focuses and skill sets.
When ever I am asked to define the difference between a manager and a leader, I often reference the work of Joel Kurtzman in his excellent book, Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve The Extraordinary, Jossey-Bass 2010. He defines leaders as “strategic leaders” and managers as “operational leaders” which, by the way, is becoming a very common phrase in certain industries. As he explains:
“Strategic leaders are people within organizations who plot the course... Strategic leaders generally can think far into the future...The best of these people understand where the future is going and how to get there…. The role of operational leaders is quite different from those of strategic leaders. Operational leaders make certain the trains run on time, the manufacturing processes are adequate, the logistics systems work, the technicians are well trained, and the the trucks are where they are supposed to be.... like strategic leaders, operational leaders are vital to an organization’s success.”
I like the precise nature of Kurtzman’s definition, i.e. plotting the course vs. making sure the trains run on time.
However, I think Marcus Buckingham in his very good book, The One Thing You Need to Know ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success, Free Press, 2005, explains the different fundamental skill sets required of a manager vs. leader. As he writes:
“To excel as a manager you must never forget that each of your direct reports is unique and that your chief responsibility is not to eradicate this uniqueness, but rather to arrange roles, responsibilities, and expectations so that you can capitalize upon it. The more you perfect this skill, the more effectively you will turn talents into performance…. To excel as a leader requires the opposite skill. You must become adept at calling upon those needs we all share. Our common needs include the need for security, for community, for authority, and for respect, but for you, the leader, the most powerful universal need is our need for clarity. To transform our fear of the unknown into confidence in the future, you must discipline yourself to describe our joint future vividly and precisely. As your skill at this grows, so will our confidence in you.”
When one understands the big picture perspective as defined by Kurtzman and blends in the skill set perspective by Buckingham, then we have a very good explanation of the differences between leaders and managers.
This week, share the above with your team and make sure they are using the right definitions for these two key words and helping others become better leaders and managers along the way. Clearly, we need both in order to be successful.
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