Framework

Leadership versus management

The question it answers

When promoted from specialist to manager, should I focus on keeping operations in order or on setting direction and driving change, and when do I need both?

Origin
Kotter, 1990; Zaleznik, 1977; Mintzberg, 1975
Diagram type
Comparison table
Level of analysis
Individual
Topics
Strategy & leadership
Chess knight on a glass compass, icon for strategy and leadership

Diagram

Leadership versus management

CriterionManagementLeadership
Central concernCoping with complexity; creating order and consistencyCoping with change; setting direction
Typical activitiesPlanning, budgeting, organising, controllingSetting a vision, aligning people, motivating
Risk when missingChaos; weak executionStagnation; no adaptation

Pitfalls

Pitfall

Turning it into 'leaders good, managers bad'. Kotter and others say organisations need both.

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. Kotter, J.P. (1990) A force for change: how leadership differs from management. New York: Free Press.No DOISource page
  2. Mintzberg, H. (1975) ‘The manager's job: folklore and fact’, Harvard Business Review, 53(4), pp. 49–61.No DOIhbr.orgSource page
  3. Zaleznik, A. (1977) ‘Managers and leaders: are they different?’, Harvard Business Review, 55(5), pp. 67–78.No DOIhbr.orgSource page