Why People Need to Stop Giving Managers Such a Bad Rap. It’s Time for Manageship!
By Mark Stuart
“Managers are people
who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right things.” Warren
Bennis
I’m not sure why, but recently I’ve come across
an increasing number of articles, quotes, memes or infographics that compare
managers against leaders. That’s no bad thing in itself, but the problem is
that the vast majority are effectively saying you should only aspire to be a
leader and not a manager, as they are deemed to be inferior.
Messages like the above are not only insulting
to managers, but more importantly, potentially destructive. Here's another one
from my newsfeed today:
The difference often lies in people’s
understanding and interpretation of the words. In simple terms, management is
more about a set of processes, like planning, budgeting, measuring performance
and allocation of resources. Leadership involves vision, empowerment, direction
and inspiration. They are not interchangeable, but in today’s ever increasingly
complex work environment, the distinction is becoming more blurred. Good
management is a crucial element for any successful company, as is strong
leadership, however the latter is often lacking and therefore gets all the
headlines.
In my work, I’m known more for being a
leadership trainer but I’m often at my best when working with new managers and
high potential staff. I offer both management and leadership workshops as I see
them as different skill sets, but and it’s a big but, I don’t promote one over
the other. To do so, would be disrespectful to the millions of managers across
the world who are still working on their leadership skills. Just because they
need to develop this skill set does not mean they are ineffective in their
role, nor important to their companies.
A problem I often see in companies that I work
with is managers who can’t lead, and leaders who forget to, or can’t manage. I
want everyone I work with to be great leaders, but the most effective leaders
are also great managers. Yes, they inspire people, have vision, and show a high
degree of emotional intelligence, but they also understand the details of the
job, how to allocate their resources effectively, and improve processes to increase
overall productivity.
One of the core differences I see is that
managers come with a title (no getting around that!), but leadership can and
should come at any point in your career. Great leaders normally started
displaying leadership skills in their teens, however didn’t start building
their management toolkit until later in life when in gainful employment. Strong
leaders from an early age then run the risk of not developing good management
skills, or even wanting to. Leaders who see typical managerial tasks as
mundane, or even beneath them, risk looking aloof and disconnected from the
real issues facing their companies.
There are certain jobs, and workplace
situations, that benefit more from a managerial mindset, than one of
inspirational leadership. True
leadership is knowing how to adapt your style (e.g. from transactional to transformational)
to the situation without losing any of your personal values.
These views are not new or revolutionary. Both
Erika Andersen and Bob Sutton wrote (nice and more succinctly) about this issue
5 years ago, yet the increase in publishing platforms (including LinkedIn) is
only serving to increase the frequency and magnitude of these opposing views.
Rather than posting things that highlight, and
encourage a difference between managers and leaders, why not acknowledge that
great leaders need to possess both sets of skills. These skills are often
required at different stages of their career, and we need to be helping
employees not only develop these skills but recognize when and how to use them.
We need to help them develop ‘Manageship’!
Mark
Stuart
Managing
Director, BG Anagram Asia
mark.stuart@bgconsulting.com
www.bgconsulting.com
www.anagram-group.com/
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