Regardless of its size, industry or market, a company needs two functions if it wants to succeed: leadership and management. Although companies tend to use these terms interchangeably, leadership and management serve different purposes and meet different objectives for businesses.
“The confusion around these two terms is massive, and that misunderstanding gets in the way of any reasonable discussion about how to build a company, position it for success and win in the twenty-first century,” wrote Dr. John Kotter of Harvard Business School in a post, “Management is (Still) Not Leadership," on the HBR Blog Network.
Many confuse the two terms because they both employ a delicate blend of creativity and technique, and both require strong intra- and inter-personal skills. Yet, management is concerned with day-to-day operations and maintaining a company’s current state of performance, while leadership looks toward the future—assessing market opportunities, dealing with the uncertainty and turbulence of the industry, and taking the necessary risks to move the company forward. In essence, management is about the status quo; leadership is about change.
To learn more about how you can develop your skill sets in both management and leadership practices, register for Executive Education’s new UST Leadership and Management Program running October 13-17, 2014.
