The terms leadership and management are often used to describe the same person or even used as though the words are interchangeable. They are not. The differences between leadership and management are vast and varied and placing the wrong person in the wrong position could have dire consequences for your business.

Leaders are rarely great managers and vice versa. Both are much needed and both have very different skill sets needed to build and sustain a successful modern business.

In his book: Management, the Individual and Society, Peter Drucker stated that “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Whilst the phrasing of this is a little “clunky” I have thought about the quote over many years and I cannot really improve upon it.

There is no hierarchy between the two but it is important to recognise which is which as early as possible both to ensure each individual receives the best training and support and to plan where in your organisational structure these Leaders and Managers are going to fit. Understanding who your leaders and managers are will assist in strengthening your organisation and its corporate culture and morale.

Good leaders have a unique ability to rally team members around a vision. Their belief in the vision is so strong, and they are so passionate about achieving it that team members will naturally want to follow them. Leaders also tend to be willing to take risks in pursuit of the vision.

Managers, however, are far more adept at executing the vision in a very precise and systematic way, taking responsibility for the infrastructure and detail of the vision and working with the team to see the job done. Managers are usually very risk-adverse.
It is the combination of these two skill sets working in harmony which often differentiates two seemingly similar organisations.

I have often likened leaders & managers to composer and conductors. The composer creates the dream or vision and the conductor delivers it.