"Whats the difference between management & leadership skills?"

[TomBorehamUK]

Guys, interview tomorrow morning for a management role where i have been asked to hold a 20 minute presentation on the question as above.

 

I have quite a lot down but am looking for opinions from you guy's really if you've got anything for me, seems to be a question open to interpretation & google results almost always just say Management = Bad & Leaders = Good though the two are interchangeable

[Stutopia]

20 minutes is a long time, good luck!.

 

Personally, I've worked fine under a number of Managers, but I've worked my nuts off for a few good Leaders. For me, Leaders command respect, not by asking for it, but by earning it. Leaders set the tone, the example to which everyone aspires. I always wanted to impress a Leader; one because praise from people you respect is a buzz, two because you can ride thier coat tails as they progress up the ladder. A Manager may well have the vision but a Leader can get you to give something a go, even if you might otherwise be sceptical.

[Strudul]

 

Picture speaks a thousand words. That's about 20 minutes

Edited May 21, 2017 by Strudul

[Sargara]

I don't think they are looking for a right answer as such just how clearly you explain yours and your thought process behind it.

 

As Stu points out though "Management" can have a lot of negative connotations associated with it but both are needed in a successful organisation, if everyone was a Leader the place would be chaos.

[Sargara]

 

Picture speaks a thousand words. That's about 20 minutes

 

Now pad that out into a 20min powerpoint presentation and jobs done!

[coldel]

Both are positives if you ask me - managers are people that are responsible for a certain process in a business, leaders will be the figurehead of a business and responsible for the overall success of the business. In my experience both have very different skills sets - good managers tend to be highly organised focused on the job in hand, leaders tend to be fantastic communicators, networkers, people that inspire but also bear the burden of expectation of the business success or failure.

 

But it really depends on what you mean by 'management' - are we talking about project managers or people managers, or process managers or product managers?

 

I think for 20 minutes I would define the question, outline your version of what is different, bring forward case studies for good and bad versions of both (like the Strudul diagram above) then sum up with an elevator pitch which best defines your belief in the answer to the question?

[gangzoom]

'Management' comes from the latin word for hand 'manibus'.

 

A good manager is someone who can get things done, help drive through changes in pathways and get the organisation from A to B. Good managers is essential for a organisation to function.

 

Interestingly (or not), the word 'Leader' has no direct relation to ancient Greek or Latin, the concept of good 'Leadership' has also been studied to death in recent history, and in many ways is still an evolving concept. Depending on what literature you read there is at least 4/5 different leader ship styles.....Some styles require more 'management' skills to pull off, others hardly any the current US president is in many ways a fascinating case study of leadership style.

 

BUT essentially a leader is someone who sets out the vision/goal of the organisation, and the managers are the people who understand how to get the organisation achieve those goals. For transformation change to happen in any organisation you need both, in my work of the NHS we have some truly inspiration leaders, but the management structure is so awful transformation change is pretty much impossible regardless of what the leaders do.

 

I could probably do a 1hr+ long presentation on the question your been asked to talk about without any preparation or even slides!!....I know most people find the subject boring but I find it fascinating, as change is something every organisation struggles with. Moaning about work is probably everyones favourite hobby, yet how many people actually try to implement change at their work place?? Equally if you understand how the system works, can identify gaps where your skills are needed, and know how to engage relevant stake holders you can progress up the ladder very quickly!!! I'll stop now.......

 

As I suspect talking about management/leadership is probably even less interesting to most on this forum than EVs

 

Edited May 21, 2017 by gangzoom

[sipar69]

They will probably be looking for you to say things like managers get things done by being directive, making the decisions, telling people what to do, closely monitoring progress etc. A leader is someone who sets the overall vision, but involves the team in discussing how it should be achieved, empowers team members to make decisions and plays to the strength of the team etc.

[Aashenfox]

Leading is a state of mind, management is an activity.

[G1en]

A leader will jump off a cliff and others will follow

 

A manager will tell YOU to jump off then sit and watch

 

There job done, now spend the other 19.5 minutes having a brew and talking about stuff in the real world.

[ilogikal1]

Or to make it more relatable;

 

A leader will lead a presentation.

 

A manager will tell you to lead a presentation and then sit a watch you do it.

 

[ChrisB]

Management is reactive, leadership is proactive (as I understand it).

 

However, you said that you are being interviewed for a management role.. who are your target interviewers? Could be a bit of foot shooting here if you drop a bag of poo on managers to a bunch of managers. Alternatively a bunch of leaders would love to have their egos stroked

[NeilMH]

Have thought about this a lot over the years and was lucky to work for 1 or 2 great leaders in FTSE 100 companies. It is arguable how much some of these traits are also those of good management but I have seen these traits in great leaders:

 

- vision

- bravery (being prepared to go where others might fear to tread)

- great instinct (almost an advanced form of street-wiseness)

- inspiring

- they think big

- very decisive

- very effective communicators of brand values, ultimate goals and strategy to get there (not necessarily the same as great communicators per se)

[Paul K]

Not all managers are leaders. Not all leaders are managers

 

 

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[TomBorehamUK]

Some really good responses there guys, appreciate the help. Yet again showing how good this forum is!

 

Had the interview this morning & they seemed very impressed so i think i gave them the answer they were looking for! I did put to use some of your suggestions & even used that picture in my presentation strudul, cropped out the leader part & just used the 'Boss' image as a bad example of management.

My overal message from the presentation was that these two skill sets are interlinked, that to be a strong manager you should first & foremost be an effective leader

 

Find out wednesday so fingers crossed!

Edited May 22, 2017 by TomBorehamUK

[Strudul]

Hope you referenced me

 

Good luck though

[sipar69]

If you get the job, we all get a share of salary?

[TomBorehamUK]

If you get the job, we all get a share of salary?

 

Na, you just get my continued presence on the forum as i can justify keeping the Zed then

Maybe even getting one with an extra 200cc

Edited May 23, 2017 by TomBorehamUK

[MrG13]

Be like the wolf eh 😉

 

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[Strudul]

Be like the wolf eh 😉

 

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Seen that before. It's complete BS

[TomBorehamUK]

Got offered the post

[Ekona]

Great news, congrats!

[Strudul]

Gratz

[Paul K]

Excellent stuff

 

 

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[MrG13]

Be like the wolf eh 😉

 

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Seen that before. It's complete BS

But doesn't it just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside 😂😂

 

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