There’s a difference in the skills sets for leadership and those for management. Learn the difference and how to incorporate the best of both worlds in your organization.
Early in my career, I thought that leadership was what the people at the very top of the organization did and that management was what all of the people in the middle of the organizational structure did. However, while this positional view is correct in many organizations, it does not need to be that way. Management and leadership are both necessary components of a successful organization of any size.
The role of a leader in any organization is to set the direction. A leader is the first to envision a future position for the organization and first to evangelize that position. Leadership is about finding a point on the horizon and saying, loudly and firmly, we should go there.
Management focuses on keeping the ship upright and moving in the direction that it’s headed. It’s not about picking a point on the horizon and going there. Management is about plotting progress towards the spot on the horizon.