LEADERSHIP VS. MANAGEMENT:
WHICH DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION NEED?

by Illene Roggensack
January 2004

What is the difference between leadership and management, and which is most important to our organizations? Leadership Theorist John Kotter says that effective managers must know how to lead, as well as to manage; he further states that organizations face extinction if leadership is not present.

In a competent nonprofit, our board members, executive director and other staff and volunteers pool their talents and training to both lead and manage the organization. If this does not occur, the community and the agency clients will get far less than what they should expect from the organization.

Here's a quick test of YOUR day-to-day efforts. Use this to determine whether you are utilizing management skills, providing leadership or some combination. Choose from the following pairs of options to describe yourself. Are you more…

(Source: Anatomy of a Leader: Where Are the Leaders of Tomorrow? by Genevieve Capowski)

From the list above, the left-hand column lists leader-like traits, with those noted on the right more typical of managers. Management is a more formal, scientific process that uses proven tools and techniques, and relies on skills like planning, budgeting and controlling. It works to produce predictable, orderly systems. Leadership involves more obscure elements of working with people and other resources: vision, persuasion and motivation, change and transformation.

"Taken to their extreme, the leader is an inspirational figure and the manager is a stodgy bureaucrat mired in the status quo," says Andrew duBrin, author of Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. "But we must be careful not to downplay the importance of management. Effective leaders have to be good managers themselves, or be supported by effective managers...In short, the difference between leadership and management is one of emphasis. Effective leaders also manage, and effective managers also lead."

For further information on assessing your organizational capacity and excellence, contact Third Sector Innovations regarding board and staff training, internal audits and other available assistance.