Similarities and differences between management and leadership
Let�s start by looking at a very simple question but an old one; what is the difference between
management and leadership? Can you think of examples from your own experience as to how this
question might be answered. Please also see the attached article by Young and Dulewicz (2008) who
assessed leadership and management competencies in the British Navy. Can you see any such
competencies which may fit with your own experience?
Young, M., and Dulewicz, V., (2008), Similarities and Differences between Leadership and
Management:High-Performance Competencies in the British Royal Navy, British Journal of Management,
Vol. 19 Issue 1, p17-32.
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Similarities and differences between management and leadership
In terms of similarities, both management and leadership involve creation of success,
taking an active role, aligning people and resources, and conceptualization of what needs to be
done. These similarities indicate the existence of various competencies which are capable of
supporting effective performance across both management and leadership. According to Young
and Dulewicz (2008), the emerging school of leadership reflects the perception that effective
leaders exercise a small range of competencies. Interaction involves engagement in
communications, influence, inter-person sensitivity, and sensitivity to criticism. Lastly, both
managers and leaders should aim at creating success by having such competencies as motivation,
emotional resilience, conscientiousness, vigor, and self awareness.
For example, Young and Dulewicz (2008) assessed the competencies of effective
management and leadership in the Royal Navy to include conceptualizing, aligning, interacting,
and creating success. Conceptualization involves vision and imagination and critical analysis.
Alignment includes management of resources, development, and empowerment. Effective
alignment requires leaders to be forward thinking, controlling, unrestricted by rules and
influencing, and managers to be innovative. These competencies were confirmed by the analysis
of Overall Performance, Leadership, and Management. The research found that motivation
accounts for most of the variance in the appraisal of leadership, whereas vision and imagination
were the most fundamental predictors of variance in management.
Basically, management reflects different organizational functions. In a formal
organization, the manager plans, organizes, controls, budgets, staffs, solves problems, and carries
out other fundamental tasks necessary for running the business. The leader, on the other hand,
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sets out a vision of what needs to be done and the means of accomplishing it that drives
organizational performance. A successful organization needs both leadership and management
though managers typically deal with equipment, budgets, processes, systems, and ‘things’
whereas leaders deal with people and visions. Additionally, any person can play the leadership
role and does not need to be at the top management position to make a leadership contribution.
Another difference is that the effectiveness of a leader is measured in terms of
accomplishment of one or more goals, while the effectiveness of a manager is measured in terms
of profit margins. A leader may be viewed as effective or ineffective in relation to the
satisfaction people derive from the total work experience in accomplishing goals (Zaleznik,
1992).
Bertocci (2009) also notes that managers are different from leaders in terms of their
followers. Whereas leaders give followers the discretion of whether or not to follow them,
managers direct, instruct and command their followers. Followers have little or no alternative but
to comply with the a manager’s orders and directives, failure of which may result into punitive
consequences.
There are various experiences I have encountered that relate to leadership and
management. In terms of the schools that I have attended, there is usually the school
administrators show effective leadership by incorporating various competencies necessary for
achievement of set goals and objectives. Although it is hard to draw a clear line between
leadership and management in a school setting, I observed that leaders do not necessarily need to
be in the top management in order to move the people into the desired direction. Leadership in a
school setting is also inclusive of student leaders, who are not involved in the management. The
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management of the school dealing with budgets, equipment, systems, and processes is left to the
school administration. Effective leadership involves such competencies as vision and
imagination, empowerment, engaging communications, inter-personal sensitivity, influence,
motivation, and emotional resilience. Student leaders may also act as managers in the sense that
they can direct and command their followers.
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References
Bertocci, D. I., (2009), Leadership in Organizations: There is a Difference Between Leaders and
Managers, University of America.
Young, M., and Dulewicz, V., (2008), Similarities and Differences between Leadership and
Management:High-Performance Competencies in the British Royal Navy, British Journal of
Management, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p17-32.
Zaleznik, A, (1992), Managers and leaders: are they different?. Harvard Business School Pub..
