What is the Difference Between Leadership and Management?

Fundamentally different, or similar?

You’ve probably heard the saying, “managers do things right, leaders do the right things.” It suggests that managers handle the more mundane tasks while leaders engage in the “higher” functions of setting the right direction and vision for the organization.

Should a distinction be made between management and leadership?

Personally, I think not, and here’s why: Successful and effective leaders and managers should do the same things. They need to set direction for followers and the organization, motivate, develop good working relationships with followers, be positive role models, and focus on goals. So, whether a person is called “manager” or “leader,” that person has similar tasks and responsibilities to perform.

Throughout most of his long professional life, Peter Drucker preferred the term “management” over “leadership.” That was because in Drucker’s eyes management is a noble endeavor. His conceptualization of good management was identical to how most scholars view leadership.

So, the semantics are likely a non-issue. Good leadership or good management are both an important and noble endeavor.

For Development: How you think about the leadership (or manager) role that you are playing can make a difference. Create an image of the “ideal leader.” You might use a well-known leader, or one from your own experience, who embodied the ideal leader to help you. Use this concept of the ideal leader to focus your development efforts.