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[/caption]First of all, I would like to thank you for reading my blogs. Lot of people have e-mailed me regarding my blogs. Ironically, most of them asked me the same question - "Is your blog about Leadership OR Management"? And I tell people - “My blog is about Leadership AND Management”. But people don’t seem to understand that.
I guess, it became fashionable now days to separate "leaders" from "managers". Some people may define Leaders as - "those who do the right things" and Managers as - "those who do things right". I used to define Management and Leadership in the same way, before I realized that I might be missing the big picture. Most of the Leaders don’t define management as a part of Leadership anymore. And that’s where they are going in the wrong direction. With this mentality of differentiation between Leadership and Management, many leaders are detaching themselves from the messy process of managing. Thus, most of the times they don't know what's going on.
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[/caption]The truth is, many of the strategies in today’s world are built in isolation at the "top". If this wouldn’t be the reason then we wouldn’t have seen major financial and automobile companies failing. Today, most of the Managers are told to meet their targets, or they will let go. This approach shapes-up Manager’s thinking. Instead of taking risks to create new opportunities, they become busy in meeting their targets. Besides, with so many of their colleagues gone in downsizing, they feel like, they have less and less time to think. This approach induces a big gap between Management and Leadership. Instead of thinking about the long-term vision (right thing), Managers become busy in looking good for the next quarter and "doing things right".
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[/caption]Leaders/Managers of today don't understand the fact that - Leadership and Management, both are interlocking competencies. One can't exist without the other. I see leadership within the positional powers of managership. I understand that Managers are focused on serving the short term bottom-line numbers, to serve their own survival; while Leaders are suppose to live by the values in serving the larger and long term interest of stakeholders. But if Leaders start to manage within their organization, instead of impressing outsiders, then the organization can be efficient and successful. As far as my question is concerned - “Is Management more important than Leadership?”, I think that they both are really important. And if we can somehow create a tight bond between Leadership and Management then we can avoid companies from failing.
I hope my blog helped you in understanding yet another perspective of Management. If you have any other opinions then feel free to share with me on my blog.
Thanks. - Bhavin Gandhi
Hi, I just read your articles.As you mentioned Leaders and Management both are same, I do not accept. Reason is that management always directing managers based on market dynamics and forcing to ignore employees recognition were in tough times.
ReplyDeleteI am the victim got confused last year with one of the mnc, either all the decisions taken by my leader or organization management against my smooth career ? But I am sure that the fume made by management to leave the company after 5 years contribution. My leader was same but the behaviour changed due to his targets.
If both are same why so many things happened after five years?
Hey Partha!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to thank you for reading my article and sharing your opinion with me.
I guess, there is some misunderstanding between my statement and your opinion. When I mentioned, "Leadership and Management are the same thing", I meant - they should work hand-in-hand for an organization to function successfully. Of course, we are not living in the perfect world by any means. Maybe that's the reason why, you might have had the bad experience with your Management, even after devoting 5 years of your career to that particular organization.
But again, I truly believe that Management and Leadership should work hand-in-hand. And for an organization to be successful, we need to minimize the difference between Leadership and Management as much as possible. For example: look at the most successful organizations in the world, such as - Google, Apple, etc. Most of their Manager's objectives are in-line with their company's strategic direction.
I hope, my response was descriptive enough to explain my stand. Let me know, if you have any other questions or concerns.
Thanks.
Bhavin Gandhi