(The article is republished with permission from John P. Kotter and his firm, Kotter International. It was originally published on the firm’s website: www.kotterinternational.com)
Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. Henry Ford
What is the difference between management & leadership?
· Management
Makes systems of people and technology work well day after day, week after week, year after year.
- Planning and budgeting
- Organizing and staffing
- Controlling and problem solving
- Taking complex systems of people and technology and making them run efficiently and effectively, hour after hour, day after day
· Leadership
Creates the systems that managers manage and changes them in fundamental ways to take advantage of opportunities and to avoid hazards.
- Creating vision and strategy
- Communicating and setting direction
- Motivating action
- Aligning people
- Creating systems that managers can manage and transforming them when needed to allow for growth, evolution, opportunities and hazard avoidance
What happens when organizations have different amounts of management and leadership?
When organizations have high competencies in management and leadership, they’re able to meet challenges today as well as tomorrow. However, most organizations are usually lacking one or the other. When management exists without leadership, the company is often unable to change; and when leadership exists without management, the company is only as strong as its charismatic leader. Most of the time, organizations are overstaffed with managers, but lack enough leadership to help them deal with constant change.
What types of change can organizations face?
Change can range from small to large, and organizations can face many different types of change at once. No matter what type of change your organization is facing, you’ll need sufficient management and leadership skills to overcome the challenges inherent in change. What types of changes is your organization facing?
1. Little Change: making goods and services with long product life cycles
2. Continuous Improvement: Incremental changes in products and ways of operating
3. Non-incremental Change within Business: In addition to 1 and 2, regularly introducing new product lines and significant improvements in how to run the business
4. Whole New Businesses: In addition to 2 and 3, inventing, not just new product lines, but new businesses
5. Whole New Business Models: In addition to 2, 3 and 4, inventing not just new businesses, but new economic and organizational models
6. BIG change: All these combined not just episodic, but every year
WINNING now in most industries means doing 1, 2 and 3 well which takes both management and leadership
How do organizations change over time?
When they are formed, organizations are often long on leadership and short on management. The savviest organizations gradually add management capabilities over time while still preserving that spark of leadership that led them to rapid growth in the first place. But inevitably, over time, the most passionate leaders move on to something else, while layers of management build up in their place. Organizations gradually transition to a complacent mentality, where management reigns supreme and leadership is in short supply.
For more insight on management vs. Leadership from John P. Kotter, check out this post from his blog on Forbes.com: http://onforb.es/r5skrC.
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