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The Real Difference between Leadership and Management
What bloggers frequently get wrong
Apr 24, 2020
Today, I read a blog that tries to describe how leadership and management differ. The blogger wrote some decent stuff, but overall, he got it wrong!
Not enough people understand how leadership and management differ.
What is management?
At a basic level, management is “the art of getting things done through people” according to Mary Parker Follett.¹
Management is a set of four formal roles:
- Manager of the organization
- Manager of processes
- Manager of people
- Manager of projects
What is leadership?
Leadership is helping others develop mentally and morally. In other words, it’s about building character in others.
Leadership isn’t a formal role but a way of practicing a formal role. Anyone at any level can practice leadership.
You can assign someone to manage, but you can’t assign someone to lead.
