I have built 11 successful businesses and one thing I know for sure, is that sometimes it’s easy and sometimes everything just hits the fan. Startups can be complicated because nothing ever goes according to plan. In my latest venture, I have a brilliant group of partners to work with and even with all our talent, we have hit obstacle after obstacle. The only thing that has gotten us through these obstacles is the fact that when it does hit the fan, we have management and leadership skills that help us win.
Management and leadership are always linked together and cannot be separated because they work together. One can easily confuse the two terms as they have some similarities. They target attainment of goals, bring together resources, link management and employees together, highly rely on employees and act as motivators. However, there is a qualitative distinction that differentiates leadership and management.
Management is a process that has an aim to achieve the targets of a firm by planning, organizing, staffing, monitoring, and having an action plan. Leadership on the other hand, is the ability to influence and guide others to achieve a desired goal.
Leaders manage the culture and mindset of an organization. Managers act as supervisors, where they make plans, distribute responsibilities, and monitor activities to create something that is substantial.
In leadership, the leader targets development and innovation and can change the structure of the organization by introducing new changes. This is best done through motivating and influencing employees. Leaders help people become the best form of themselves.
The benefit of good managers is that they are skilled in a certain field and they are where they are, because they have achieved a certain level of success in that field. They are well detailed in what they do, and they have the experience to back it up. They keep the ship running smoothly, so to speak, within the confines of the ship.
Leadership entails someone that is willing to share their ideas with others, who comes up with great ideas and points the company in a direction, even though they may be without experience in “new waters”. People in these positions see far off into the horizon and plan how to take the ship/company through whatever waters they encounter.
In contrast, in management the manager tends to follow the authoritative style of leadership where they must be obeyed by those under them. They give instructions to their subordinates who must follow what they are told to do, as the employees know that they will be not be rewarded with a paycheck, if they don’t.
In true leadership, the leader uses a transformational style of leadership where the people follow the leader, because they want to. They are inspired by the leader’s vision and mission of a project.
Most of the time managers tend to have their position through time, even without necessarily having all the educational skills normally required. When they have their longevity with the company in mind, they may tend to seek comfort and to avoid conflict as their management style. As long as the company runs well and there is strong leadership, this is an asset.
In leadership, the leader has a vision that unites the people together and inspires people to trust in them. The leader is like the captain of a ship steering the company through all different kinds of weather. This person always has a watchful eye on the business environment the company lives in, within and without, so that the company can take advantage of opportunities in all climates.
Finally, both management and leadership are important for a company to be successful, but for management to be effective, leadership always comes first.