Focus – Management vs leadership

by Bob Gregg – 

Commissioner Linda Bond emphasizes the contemporary role of leadership in both her practice of and communication about leadership. In talking to the Business Conference, she stated that “the day of the ‘command and control,’ or solo flight style of leadership is gone. Anyone who thinks they can lead like that today is a dinosaur. There is no place for those who can’t lead with and through teams.”

Last time, we discussed the Trait theory (“leaders are born and not made”) which leads to the “command and control.” In addition, there are two other historical theories that tend to support the “command and control” type of leadership and that hold a lot of popularity. The Great Man theory often refers to those who rise to prominence in times of great crisis. We tend to think of them as solitary figures that seem to have all the answers. Lincoln from our own history and Churchill in England during WWII come to mind.

Does this theory promise the definitive answer? Certainly not. First of all, it eliminates women. Secondly, we need leaders in every era and most circumstances. Third, really successful leaders have always chosen to access the support of others; for instance, Washington needed Jefferson, Lincoln needed Grant, William Booth needed Catherine, and the best of all, Jesus chose to use a team to accomplish his mission. And when those in leadership positions are not willing to seek such help, disaster can strike; Henry Ford took the Ford Motor Company to the brink of bankruptcy before he conceded his vulnerability.

The Transactional theory approaches leadership as good, or excellent, management. It was the prevailing 19th century model. It seeks to exchange one thing for another…“you do what I say and I’ll give you something in return.”

But management and leadership are distinctly different. Simply put, management is about processes, measurement, tools, structures and procedures. Leadership, on the other hand, is about buy-in, commitment, attitude, creativity, overcoming resistance to change, and self-leadership. Some specific comparisons include:

Both management and leadership are critical for success in any organization, and every high quality leader either has some management skills, or has those in his or her organization to provide that support. Scripture tells us that to be a leader is to be a steward who manages the resources that are owned by the Lord. In fact, quality in management is identified as a particular style of leadership with important characteristics lacking in other styles. These leaders glory in bringing order out of chaos, in creating motivation by identifying and recognizing achievement of specific goals. Leaders also manage the development of those in their charge…their gifts, their talents, their leadership. Joseph and Nehemiah were both excellent managing leaders.

Today many people understand management better because it’s far more easily practiced and quantified. Only recently are our business schools recognizing the need for courses—even majors—in leadership.

What we can see is that a successful organization needs balance…quality on the management side, and quality on the leadership side. One prominent Christian leader has said: “May God deliver us in Christian organizations from managerial superiority without biblical compassion and Spirit-filled behavior, BUT…May he also deliver us from thinking that Bible knowledge and spiritual lifestyle somehow substitute for competence in leading a Christian organization.”

In our next time together we will look at Transformational and Servant leadership theories, which come much closer to what Jesus practiced. We will also introduce a recent Stanford University research study reported in the book, Good to Great. You may be surprised by what the author found as common characteristics in the top level leaders.

Shape and influence Control and tinker

Both management and leadership are critical for success in any organization, and every high quality leader either has some management skills, or has those in his or her organization to provide that support. Scripture tells us that to be a leader is to be a steward who manages the resources that are owned by the Lord. In fact, quality in management is identified as a particular style of leadership with important characteristics lacking in other styles. These leaders glory in bringing order out of chaos, in creating motivation by identifying and recognizing achievement of specific goals. Leaders also manage the development of those in their charge…their gifts, their talents, their leadership. Joseph and Nehemiah were both excellent managing leaders.

Today many people understand management better because it’s far more easily practiced and quantified. Only recently are our business schools recognizing the need for courses—even majors—in leadership. What we can see is that a successful organization needs balance…quality on the management side, and quality on the leadership side. One prominent Christian leader has said: “May God deliver us in Christian organizations from managerial superiority without biblical compassion and Spirit-filled behavior, BUT…May he also deliver us from thinking that Bible knowledge and spiritual lifestyle somehow substitute for competence in leading a Christian organization.”

In our next time together we will look at Transformational and Servant leadership theories, which come much closer to what Jesus practiced. We will also introduce a recent Stanford University research study reported in the book, Good to Great. You may be surprised by what the author found as common characteristics in the top level leaders.