Leaders vs. Managers
I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for some time and recently came across this post on Slacker Manager, one of the more interesting blogs around. This post, like the preceding ones at LeadershipTurn are taking the manager vs. leader are starting to go in the right direction after our clinging to Bennis’ theories for far too long.
The world has changed from when Bennis wrote about the differences between leaders and managers nearly half a century ago. As a culture, we’re increasingly less responsive to command and control situations than we were then.
The difference between the two is behavior and mentality, not tasks nor title.
Why does it all matter? Well, which would you rather have on your side?
Leaders:
- Motivate, inspire, coach
- Set the tone for how business is conducted (good or bad)
- Recognize and promote good ideas regardless of where they originate
- Promote others before themselves (usually, though not always)
- Know what they don’t know…and have the ability to say “I don’t know”
- Understand what makes the people around them tick and utilize that to maximize performance
- Speak the truth, always
Managers:
- Stick to the plan
- Ensure tasks are completed as expected
- Protect themselves by sycophantically managing up and take credit for their team’s success
- Can’t see the needs of others through the work that needs to be completed
- Tell people what they think they want to hear
Related posts:
- Leaders Adjust to Their Followers
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