Leadership and management are not entirely different, but they are different in many ways. Comparing leadership and management is more accurately the comparison of a combination of strong leadership and management skill with a level of management skill where the leadership component is missing. It is a difficult comparison to make explicitly, but examples in real life abound!
The following matrix offers a good grouping of characteristics to think about for project managers:
|
Leadership Skills |
Management Skills |
| More concerned with vision | More concerned with implementation than the vision |
| Oriented toward “driving†change,    and anticipating environmental changes | Oriented toward “adapting†to change, not taking the initiative |
| Concerned with dynamics of a situation, which provides hints on how to leverage or shape; concerned with setting or changing the culture | Concerned more with technique; sometimes preoccupied with maintaining order and the status quo, but otherwise with adapting to the culture |
| Concerned with empowering | Concerned with BEING empowered |
| Actions demonstrate skill, but are strongly character based | Actions tend to be more strongly skill-based |
| More concerned with positive possibilities | More concerned with negative consequences |
| Concerned with building and/or reshaping the organization; willing to use skills of persuasion to advance vision and ideas of possibilities – regardless of position | Concerned with filling out the prescribed organization; adopt behavior and attitudes according to level or position; tend to be more protective of position, information, and knowledge; may feel that a situation is out of their control or influence |
| Understand their strengths and weaknesses, and are willing to learn from their mistakes and grow; able and interested in helping others do the same | Tend to avoid risks for self protection, and hence growth is more limited; might understand strengths and weaknesses, but unaware of how to manage them to achieve goals |
| See relationships as opportunities for growth; personal goals in alignment with organizational goals; recognize that interdependence is the best way to achievement | See a more limited web of relationships in terms of immediately adjacent areas; tend to focus mostly on goals set by others, and work more independently within organizational limitations   |
| Build ‘systems’ to support goals, empower others, and provide direction; promote sharing and collaboration; concerned with removal of performance barriers; and continued growth of team members | Concerned with segmenting areas of responsibility; become ‘indispensable’ and part of the ‘system’; overly concerned with what team members do and how   |
Evaluate yourself on these and think about what you need to do to raise your level of leadership.
John Reiling, PMP Project Management Training Online Lean Six Sigma Training Online  Â
6 responses so far ↓
1 pligg.com // Mar 12, 2008 at 12:46 am
10 Differences Between Leadership and Management…
Leadership and management are not entirely different, but they are different in many ways. Comparing leadership and management is more accurately the comparison of a combination of strong leadership and management skill with a level of management skil…
2 shoppersbase.com // Mar 12, 2008 at 4:28 am
10 Differences Between Leadership and Management…
Leadership and management are not entirely different, but they are different in many ways. Comparing leadership and management is more accurately the comparison of a combination of strong leadership and management skill with a level of management skil…
3 PlugIM.com // Mar 12, 2008 at 4:29 am
10 Differences Between Leadership and Management…
Leadership and management are not entirely different, but they are different in many ways. Comparing leadership and management is more accurately the comparison of a combination of strong leadership and management skill with a level of management skil…
4 Anonymous // Mar 12, 2008 at 4:51 am
10 Differences Between Leadership and Management…
Leadership and management are not entirely different, but they are different in many ways. Comparing leadership and management is more accurately the comparison of a combination of strong leadership and management skill with a level of management skil…
5 Leadership Programs and Courses: Leadership vs. Management | The Leadership Gym // Jul 30, 2008 at 1:59 pm
[...] Click here to see a nice side-by-side comparison of leadership and management [...]
6 Manly Men : truegrit // Aug 6, 2008 at 7:52 pm
[...] 10 Differences Between Leadership and Management( I just chose four, you’ll have to read the rest by following the link): [...]
You must log in to post a comment.