Management is intrinsically result-oriented. Managers develop work schedules, set goals and delegate responsibility. They are there to answer questions and to assist employees in completing their tasks. Their orientation is tactical and geared to solving problems. Nonetheless, even at the lowest levels, managers are challenged to develop a new mindset, a new set of skills. As a so-called “high potential” moves up from individual contributor to first-line manager, he or she is for the first time in a position where future promotion will depend largely on team results, not individual accomplishments or expertise. The hiring and supervising of individual contributors will demand leadership qualities from the beginning manager: the ability to assess, not just technical skills but how well an employee fits with the organization’s culture, and the ability to motivate and mentor employees with varying temperaments and skillsets. That shift in emphasis grows even more pronounced when the young manager is promoted to essentially become a “manager of managers.”
Leadership, on the other hand, is more process-oriented. Just as important as meeting deadlines is how the group gets there. If a bottom-line goal is achieved without involving and developing the entire team, the organization will not be prepared to meet future challenges and changing circumstances. While managers are more likely to be answering questions, a great leader routinely asks them. Their orientation is strategic rather than tactical, with an emphasis not so much on solving problems as on generating possibilities.
Again, a blend of the two skillsets is required as one moves up the corporate ladder. Ideally, the two will work in concert with one another: “Your leadership mindset defines the objectives; your management mindset ensures that those objectives are met.”
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