Leader vs. Manager = “MU”

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Last week my friend Justin discussed the differences between a leader and a manager on his blog. It is a debate that I had not heard much of since my time at the Academy where leadership was the subject of constant discussion. Just Google “leader vs. manager” and you will quickly see that the debate is not limited to military academies or corporate seminars, but is surprisingly widespread. Here’s a snippet from one of the thousands of sites discussing leadership vs. management that captures the common view of leaders as more noble and grand then squinty-eyed, cheap-suit-wearing managers.

To survive in the twenty-first century, we are going to need a new generation of leaders — leaders, not managers. The distinction is an important one. Leaders conquer the context — the turbulent, ambiguous surroundings that sometimes seem to conspire against us and will surely suffocate us if we let them — while managers surrender to it.

Leaders investigate reality, taking in the pertinent factors and analyzing them carefully. On this basis they produce visions, concepts, plans, and programs. Managers adopt the truth from others and implement it without probing for the facts that reveal reality. - www.futurevisions.org

Notice the utter disdain for a manager and the god-like characterizations of a leader. To the question of leader vs manager I respond, “MU.” I think the entire debate is mind-numbing and a huge waste of time, here’s why. The debate is founded on a false premise that one must be either a leader or a manager…one or the other. To all of this I respond, “MU.” Before I go on, let’s look at the very same site which gives characteristics of both leaders and managers. Keep in mind, these lists are supposed to be showing the difference between the two:

Management is: Coping with complexity, planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, controlling and problem solving, effective action.

Leadership is: Coping with and promoting change, setting a direction, aligning people, motivating and inspiring people, meaningful action

Are you kidding?! Is organizing and staffing any different than aligning? Does setting a direction not require careful planning and budgeting? The reality is leadership and management cannot be separated, there is so much overlap between the two that it is silly to say a person must be one or the other. The list in trying to show the uniqueness of each role seems to instead be providing a lesson in synonyms. How many great leaders do you know that don’t cope with complexity, control and problem solve or take “effective action.” By the way which is better, “effective action” or “meaningful action”? Try telling a board of directors that while your last decision was not very “effective” it was very “meaningful” and see what kind of reaction you get.

I have a one word response to this entire debate, “MU.” I reject the premise of the debate. Leaders must have management skills or no one would follow them. Managers have to be able to lead people in order to manage an organization. “What the heck is MU?” you are probably asking by now. I give you a segment from a book, Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter where the characters are discussing a similar debate on whether the world should be viewed through a holistic or reductionist lens:

You see, ‘MU’ is an ancient Zen answer answer, which, when given to a question, UNMASKS the question. Here the question seems to be, ‘Should the world be understood via holism, or via reductionism?’ And the answer, ‘MU’ here rejects the premises of the question, which are that one or the other must be chosen. By unmasking the question, it reveals a wider truth: that there is a larger context into which both holistic and reductionist explanations fit. -pg 312

There must also be a larger context into which both leadership and management explanations fit. Leaders cannot survive without managerial skills and managers will never reach their objectives without being able to lead people. When we ask the question of the difference between leadership and management we’re simply asking the wrong question. For those I have still not convinced I leave you with Joe Torre. Is he a manager or a leader? The great baseball manager’s Yankees won championships the first four of his five years at the helm. On the one hand he had to handle the personnel decisions, on the other he had to inspire his players. The fans loved him, the players respected him, but ask yourself, manager or leader? “MU” “MU” “MU”!!!

Related posts:

1. Are You Someone Worth Following?
2. Maslow’s Hierarchy and Organic Leadership