Some say that there is a clear difference between leadership & management while some says not. Many accept the fact that both are needed in equal while some argue that it is dangerous to distinguish the both.

1. Managing vs. Leading
An interesting topic which many argue on: Managing Vs Leading; are
they same or different? Which is better? What should be my role?
Should I be a manager or a leader or both? What is more important?
Some say that there is a clear difference between leadership &
management while some says not. Many accept the fact that both are
needed in equal while some argue that it is dangerous to distinguish
the both.
As for the Wikipedia managing or MANAGEMENT is a function that coordinates the efforts of
people to accomplish goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively.
It’s a discipline evolved back from 4000BC with slave management and developed with the
industrial revolution with the support of Henri Fayol, Elton Mayo, Frederick W. Taylor etc. and
yet evolving day by day with the changes of the environment. The role & function of managers
involves many elements including;
• Planning and budgeting
• Setting direction
• Organizing and staffing
• Aligning the efforts of many people
• Controlling

2. • Decision-making and problem solving
• Motivating and inspiring people
Leading or LEADERSHIP is a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid
and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. There are many definitions of
leadership and also many theories including Leader–member exchange theory, Transactional
and transformational theories etc. There are different leadership styles defined by different
scholars as well as different skills which required to become a leader. Leaders are expected to
fulfill certain functions which include;
• Having a vision about what can be accomplished.
• Making a commitment to the mission and to the followers.
• Taking responsibility for the accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of followers.
• Assuming risk of loss and failure.
• Accepting recognition for success.
The difference between managing vs. leading as for Stever Robbins;
“Leaders are the heart of a business, motivating others to work toward a common
goal. Managers are the brains of a business, establishing things like systems and
operating procedures, focused more on the “things” side of the business, rather than
the “people” side. Leadership is about things like taking a long-term perspective,
vision, setting a strategy; and, management is about operations, details,
implementation and the little things required to keep a team or an organization
moving forward “
Or, as guru Warren Bennis famously put it,
“Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right
thing.”
The difference between management & leadership includes;
• Managers develop policies and procedures. Leaders develop vision and strategy.
• Managers direct and control. Leaders motivate and inspire.

3. • Managers get people to do what needs to be done. Leaders get people to want to do
what needs to be done
• Managers explain “what we have to do.” Leaders explain “where we are going.”
• Managers give directions. Leaders ask questions.
• Managers are concerned with the here and now. Leaders are concerned with the long-
view.
• Managers are bottom-line oriented. Leaders are big-picture oriented.
• Managers are concerned with projects. Leaders are concerned with people.
And according to Dr. John Kotter Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School, there are
three mistakes that people do when talking about leadership vs. management.
Mistake #1: People use the terms “management” and “leadership” interchangeably.
And don’t see the crucial difference between the two and the vital functions that
each role plays.
Mistake #2: People use the term “leadership” to refer to the people at the very top
of hierarchies and call the people in the layers below them in the organization
“management.” And then all the rest are workers, specialists, and individual
contributor which is a mistake and very misleading.
Mistake #3: People often think of “leadership” in terms of personality characteristics,
usually as something with charisma. Since few people have great charisma, this
leads logically to the conclusion that few people can provide leadership.
A question comes; what’s the point of understanding the differences between managing and
leading? Should a person be doing more of one or the other or some combination of both? And
what if what’s most important is not to focus on the differences?
My personal story: I was the president of AIESEC Sri Lanka in year 2012-2013; the
local chapter of an international youth run organization which focus on developing
young people through student exchange & providing practical working experiences. I
was responsible for planning, managing the direction, strategy, governance and

4. overall management of the organization. I was supposed to lead membership of 400
with four local committees & achieve 600+ exchanges (230% growth) and initiate
expansions while helping them to learn & develop through the process.
But what I realized was that I cannot LEAD and achieve goals by being in my office
with my immediate team. I may have a brilliant plan and a great strategy, but I also
need to ensure that we achieve our goal at the end. I need to manage things;
talking to middle managers, members & get to know their problems, issue, ensure
they are solved, ensure that we have resources & utilize them properly, that we
achieve day to day goals, quarterly goals etc. and ensure day to day operations are
happening without any disturbance. Also, ensure that each and everything we do
ensures the reaching our goal.
I believe in our professional life as well as in our personal life, we have to play different roles
including the role of a manager and leader. It is important to have both leadership skills &
management skills for the success of any role in an organization or even in life. But many ask;
which is better? What should be my role? Should I be a manager or leader or both? What is
more important?
Robert Sutton the writer of Good Boss, Bad Boss argued that
"There is a difference between management and leadership, but focusing on it is
dangerous".
A leader or a manager has a role of both leading & managing things and ignoring one of them
would ultimately lead to failure. A CEO can’t just manage the strategy & take only the “big
decisions” without knowing the bottom line and how to execute. This detached from reality
mindset can spell disaster and lead to poor decisions. Steve Jobs, who often visited the Apple
Store near his house in Palo Alto and constantly fussed over details such as the quality of the
shopping bags, where employees stood in the store, and the color of the walls and tables, and
what they conveyed about the brand.
Also in the new economy where things & complex, fast changing & associated with high risk,
where value comes increasingly from the knowledge of people, and where workers are no
longer undifferentiated cogs in an industrial machine, managers cannot just manage resources
& employees. People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for
them a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to
nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results.

5. A wsj.com leadership guide also provides some insights into the differences between leadership
and management.
• Leadership and management are different but must go hand in hand.
• When working with employees you need to be able to not just assign tasks but also to
define the mission and purpose for them.
• Part of the job is organizing and maximizing efficiency. But it’s also nurturing skills,
developing talent and inspiring results
Again a question comes; how an organization strikes a balance between management and
leadership?
“It depends on the environment in which it operates, If the world is not changing
and you are on top, then management is essential but more leadership really is not,"
Says John Kotte, professor of leadership at Harvard University.
According to Dame Mary Marsh founding director of the Clore Social Leadership Program
“at a time of economic crisis and technological transformation, leadership has never
been more essential”
She emphasizes that employees should be encouraged to develop the necessary qualities as
soon as possible.
To conclude, becoming a better leader is primarily an internal process of self-reflection;
learning to think and then behave differently. It’s about seeing yourself as a leader, and then
behaving in ways that make others see you as a leader. Becoming a better manager is primarily
about developing your skills; creating habits of speech, organization, and interaction that allows
the people who work for you to be best utilized and best focused on achieving the company’s
goals.
If one tries to develop the attribute of a good leader and skills of a good manager at the same
time developing people management skills and develop himself as a follow able leader –
combination of skills and attributes will make the person far more useful than either one alone
especially in an environment which is complex, fast changing. Which one is better, cooler, or
more needed; I believe it should be both.