If I’ve got it right about the definition of management versus leadership and management is all about logic, and leadership is about emotion then it begs the question, which is more important?
Another way of asking the same question is to ask whether you can be an effective manager without being a good leader or vice versa, can you be an effective leader without being a manager?
I think we can all agree that being both is best but if you had to choose one, which would it be?
When I started contemplating the writing of this blog, I thought I would come down on the side of a balanced approach but alas, I have not ended up there. I’m afraid to say that I’m coming down on the side of management. I am willing to be disagreed with but I thought back to “Bosses I have Known” and decided that it really didn’t matter if they were good leaders.
One boss I knew was a tyrant but a good manager. He got great results. Another one I knew was a great leader but bad manager and everyone was motivated but results were poor. So I came up with this chart. Someday it will be as famous as the Boston Consulting Group’s Cow/Star thingie so don’t forget, you saw it here first: Management versus Leadership.
In the end, for a company, it’s all about the results and a bad leader who is a good manager can deliver results but a good leader who is a bad manager is unlikely to deliver.