In my opinion, management is merely the application of a requisite amount of pressure necessary to ensure that any given workforce will complete a task or accomplish a goal. No more, no less.
Leadership, however, is a personal quality that allows an individual to cause the members of a workforce to want to complete a task or accomplish a goal without the requisite pressure applied by managers.
While management and leadership can certainly each accomplish a goal, management merely requires pressure while leadership requires vision and the ability to share that vision with others to the point where the members of a workforce actively and willingly seek to be part of an accomplishment.
Which is better: pushing employees into accomplishing a goal, or inspiring employees to share in a vision, and by doing so seeking to accomplish a shared goal?
This is certainly not to say that leaders don’t occasionally push—they do. But the real difference is that leaders lead—first, last and always. Leaders only push when absolutely necessary, but even when pushing, leaders are generally always present—applying the same pressure to themselves as those under their stewardship. Leader are found on the front lines, beckoning those around them to join in as everyone steps forward, not just cracking the whip from behind. In discussions about management and leadership, I remind my audience that people are not oxen needing to be driven. People are souls wanting to be led alongside a leader with whom they can share a vision.
To put it another way, management is the exercise of extrinsic motivation; that is, application of external pressure in order to motivate employee performance. Leadership, on the other hand, means inspiring intrinsic motivation—creating a desire within the employees to willingly and even enthusiastically achieve exemplary levels of performance.
C.S. Lewis provided a delightfully succinct definition of leadership:
"For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there's hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land."
[C.S. Lewis (1954). The Horse and His Boy (Book 5 in the Chronicles of Narnia). Scholastic, Inc. New York, NY. p. 215]
While the model of leadership I’m discussing is not related to kingship, Lewis has brilliantly encapsulated my thoughts.
- Leaders are in the forefront of any new venture, not only providing inspiration to those who follow but working as hard as anyone to accomplish the shared goal.
- Leaders protect and guard their employees when things become difficult, making sacrifices themselves rather than sacrificing others.
- Leaders exemplify the behavioral standards they want in their employees and regulate the emotional climate of the organization through their responsible actions and positive demeanor.
Not everyone possesses the gifts and talents inherent in being a real leader, although I do believe that these can be developed and strengthened in someone who displays potential. Management, however, can be taught and can also be implemented successfully, respectfully, and appropriately. This blog post is in no way meant to diminish those managers who do their jobs well. But, in my experience (which is considerable) poor managers abound while excellent managers are few and far between, and genuine leaders tend to be even rarer. For every George Washington there are a thousand petty, scheming, selfish, short-sighted bureaucrats and dictators who push, threaten, or bribe their way to power and then repeatedly use these techniques for their own gain.
Whether political, military, academic, or corporate, genuine leaders should be recognized and rewarded. Managers? A dime a dozen.