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February 28, 2004
Managers and leaders
Jim has been talking about managers and leaders on his blog for a few days now. Jim's discussed this with me before, and I've thought about it some.
I read the first chapter of The Essential Drucker this week, which covers the history and development of management (in brief). I was surprised to find that management as a business concept and profession has only existed 150 years. It's no wonder that there are still so many questions about what management is.
During that time the roles of management and the people that are managed have changed dramatically. In part this may contribute to the confusion today over management and leaders. In the 1950's, most of management existed to channel information from the top of the hierarchy to the rank-and-file on the assembly lines. Today's corporations deliver products and services that are the highly-trained knowledge workers that make up the rank-and-file. A manager may just as often have to manage information in the rank-and-file and communicate it up-wards as the other direction.
I like one reference Jim mentions to Mike Vance, that "the superlative manager and the superlative mother share the same skill set." Superlative mothers don't just plan the agenda for the week, make sure that food's on the table and that the kids ate breakfast before they headed out the door. As we are realizing, superlative mothers (and fathers) are successful parents only when they are so involved in their kids' lives that they can guide their children, raise the bar, challenge them, help them overcome challenges.
I don't know if there's a difference between a leader and a manager, but I can say confidently that organizations today will not succeed if managers see their role as just interfacing between the rank-and-file and the upper levels of the organization, and making sure that stuff is coordinated within their group. Successful organizations are made up of successful managers who are involved in what their employees do enough to direct their employees to personal and organizational success. Leadership is one of many qualities that today's managers must practice and exhibit.
Posted by pete at February 28, 2004 11:54 AM