On Leadership: Jane C. Barber

Leadership vs. Management
Jane C. Barber

The LEAD Programme is a programme for business leaders. Questions that many people interested in the LEAD Programme often ask are, “What is leadership?”; “What makes a leader?” and “What is the difference between leadership and management?” This is a far-reaching and complex debate, but I would like to share here some thoughts about the difference between leadership and management.

At the core of the difference are the different behaviours exhibited by managers and leaders, as well as the way those individuals choose to motivate others. These “others” can be those who work for them, or those whom they wish to influence to follow their lead in a non-subordinate scenario. However, it is important to understand that the roles of leaders and managers are not mutually exclusive. Many people fulfil both roles – being a manager whilst at the same time clearly exhibiting the differentiating traits of being a good leader. It is fair to say that it takes a lot more energy to be a good leader than it does to merely be a good manager!

Leadership has been described as the process whereby one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a task. Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith of Genentech states that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen."

According to Ken "SKC" Ogbonnia, "Effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals."

Management tends to be centred around a transactional approach. The manager has subordinates over whom he has power because of the heirarchical nature of their relationship – the old fashioned master and servant approach. The subordinates tend to do what they are told by their superior as part of the contractual relationship between them. The quid pro quo is that the manager is paid to manage resources. He directs and issues requests in relation to work related tasks, and the subordinate is paid to follow direction and to execute tasks as required by management.

Management generally centres around control and task orientation within a relatively short-term time frame. Managers will often be risk averse and will continue to do things in the way that they have always done them, being disinclined to try new approaches. Within a traditional management culture there is little room for well developed emotional intelligence. The focus is on tasks, rather than people.

Leadership differs from management in that leaders inspire others to follow them. The leadership model is a transformational one, not a transactional one. It does not centre on a power based relationship. People choose to follow a leader. The action they take of following is a voluntary one. Leaders do not issue instructions or commands, but rather they enthuse others to make a contribution. They encourage them to venture outside of their comfort zones to explore new ways of achieving a desired result or outcome.

Effective leaders communicate the benefits of doing something by example. Leaders persuade by demonstrating how things could work. They are interested in people and in motivating them. They understand that different approaches work with different people, and put time and effort into working out how best to engage individuals by firing their imaginations.

Leaders possess sound values and share these values with their team. This sharing encourages others to adopt the same values, to create a culture of mutual respect and loyalty. A good leader creates an environment whereby individuals are truly self-motivated to contribute to the success of their team, whilst at the same time working towards achieving their own personal goals. Leaders engender a win-win situation.
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Jane C. Barber is a graduate of the initial MMU Lead Manchester cohort. She is an NLP practitioner, a certified business coach and a law graduate. Jane works with clients in the SME market sector and has held executive and senior management roles at such companies as IBM and Lenovo Technology.