Dear Editor,
A recent editorial (SN, August 14) captioned ‘Management and leadership’ referred to an article with an interesting title by Dr Rudi Webster: ‘The WICB: over-managed and under-led’ which reportedly provided some insights into the difference between management and leadership. So far so good.
However, the editorial goes on to attribute to Dr Webster what I consider to be some fallacious, if not dangerous, explanations; for example, to say that: “to manage is to control, manipulate and seek obedience” whereas “to lead is to guide, influence, inspire and motivate” is to ascribe to management the most negative definition I have ever seen. It is certainly wrong (unless we are talking about some unscrupulous, vindictive persons parading in shepherds’ clothing to hide their wolfish ambitions). But to précis Dr Webster’s definitions the way the editorial reported does not sit well with my own studies and practical involvement in management and leadership in a wide variety of organizations.
Both leadership and management are indeed critical for the success of any organization and can indeed be provided by one and the same person; as a matter of fact that is an ideal. Depending on the context in terms of time, place, culture, exigencies and other circumstantial considerations, the focus might shift between leadership and management, but at all times elements of both are relevant and necessary. It is interesting to reflect on these two core ingredients of organizational effectiveness.
A pioneer in management literature, Mary Parker Follet defined management as “the art of getting things done through people”. It is said that leaders have followers while managers have subordinates but that does not deny managers of followers or leaders of subordinates. This is not to ignore the school of thought that argues for a clear definition on the grounds that the ‘roles’ of managers and leaders are often different, at least conceptually. In 1989 Warren Bennis produced an interesting set of dichotomous relationships between managers and leaders such as, leaders innovate, managers administer; leaders develop while managers maintain; leaders take the long-term perspective, managers concentrate on the short term; leaders eye the horizon, managers keep an eye on the bottom line”. Then there is the question of leadership and management ‘styles’, but that must be left for another occasion.
Yours faithfully,
Nowrang Persaud
