Is 'Leadership' Contrary to Good 'Management'?
by Ray Burch and Cris Hagen
Originally published in the April 2004 Issue of Link & Learn. 
A few years ago, there was a poem published in the Wall Street Journal titled, "Let's Get Rid of Management." The poem opened with: "People don't want to be managed; they want to be led." This same theme appears in dozens of business articles and books written over the last two decades that all suggest that leading is good and managing is bad. One article on "Leadership versus Management" from the National Research Bureau went so far as to state that "leadership and management are two opposing styles of employee supervision actively used within today's business world." The authors concluded that "leadership operates in a trust-based environment" whereas "management seeks to control by fear."
Where did the notion come from that management is somehow "bad" and that so-called "leadership" skills are the only ticket to success for executives in today's corporations?
The role of management has become badly maligned in today's popular literature. Effective leadership skills and solid management practices are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary requirements for leading and managing in today's corporate environment.
A Case of Swinging Too Far to the Other Side
A look at trends regarding the role of management over the past two to three decades reveals that "leadership" has become popularized as the cure for the ills of business, and the term "management" has developed a bad rap. How did this come to pass?
In 1960, Douglas McGregor wrote The Human Side of Enterprise, a seminal book that first described the difference between Theory X and Theory Y management styles. McGregor posited that:
- Theory X managers operate on the assumption of workers as lazy, lacking motivation, and wanting to get paid for just showing up to work.
- Theory Y managers, on the other hand, operate on the assumption that workers want to do a good job, are self-motivated, and gain meaning from being productive.
In other words: Theory X = bad; Theory Y = good.
That premise started an avalanche of books, articles, and programs all aimed at converting "old school" managers into "leaders." While McGregor's theory wasn't necessarily faulty or wrong; over time the notion of "good management" got buried underneath a pile of negative connotations. And, as the saying goes, "we threw the baby out with the bath water."
Fast-forward to the 1980's. In the eighties, there were driving forces to eliminate layers in the organization, reduce bloat, and create self-managing teams. True, improvements in technology had begun to make many of management's administrative responsibilities redundant. But as a result, the middle manager role became the sacrificial lamb in cost-cutting actions.
Over time, the dichotomy between "management" and "leadership" became more and more distinctly characterized.
Leadership
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Management
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Lead by vision
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Lead by control
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Empower employees
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Enforce policies
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Trust that people will do what's right
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Don't trust that people know what to do
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Communicate
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Pontificate
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Participate
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Direct
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Delegate
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Control
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A by-product of this swing away from "management" to "leadership" was that many of the basic functions of good management were lost. Management practices that created structure where chaos existed, and provided the glue for focusing energy around a common purpose were disdained. We had literally thrown the baby out with the bath water.
Organizations as Whole Systems
While leadership is only one of many ingredients for achieving highly productive organizations, unfortunately, over time, this distinction was lost in the plethora of books written about leadership. Socio-technical systems, also emerging out of that period, augmented McGregor's line of thought by stating that other aspects of an organization's design played equally key roles in achieving high performance organizations. These aspects included organization structure, "people" processes, core business processes, technology, strategy, and core values.
The problem with socio-technical systems theory was that it was seen as too academic and complex to gain notoriety in the popular literature, while the topic of leadership flourished. Also, not many leaders or consultants knew much about how to apply socio-technical systems theory to solve organizational problems and achieve any real, measurable improvement.
A Pendulum Shift Back to Center
A whole systems view of organizations remains as a fundamentally solid theoretical framework for understanding how organizations function. And while the application of this theory to lasting organizational improvement continues to be refined over time, the concepts of whole systems theory and the need for alignment are generally well-accepted. Having well-designed systems for managing and rewarding performance, customer relationship management, operations management, communication, etc. are all important to organizational performance. In the same vein, having a common system for management is just as important.
In the eternal search for the leadership elixir, professors, consultants and CEOs offer numerous personal versions of the Twelve Step, One Minute solution to better management. One book review in a recent Fortune magazine lamented, "The tidal wave of half-baked, vanity-driven business books may now have reached the point of detracting from the sum of human knowledge." John Kotter, Harvard professor and noted business author, reminds us that "good management brings order."
Good management is a distinct, specialized, professional set of activities - a generic science that involves assessing, planning, organizing, executing, leading, motivating, coordinating and measuring. Good management is best thought of as a "system" that incorporates timelessly proven management practices with more "interpersonally" focused leadership skills. Rather than being mutually exclusive, good management practices and effective leadership skills are the one-two punch of an effectively run organization. In his seminal work on the science of management, Louis Allen described the four major functions of good management practice:
- Planning
- Organizing
- Leading
- Controlling
Sadly, when only 3% of training budgets is set aside for middle managers, their curriculum is heavily weighted toward personal, interpersonal and group skills, while being light on the diagnostic, systems and work process skills offered in the recently revised Louis Allen Management Program.
Steps for Improving Manager Performance
How can organizations improve manager performance? There are three major steps:
Step 1: Management Practices Assessment
Invest in an assessment of current management practices. An assessment will likely reveal that managers are more focused on "doing" than on "managing." A thorough assessment can aid in strengthening hiring, coaching, training, and mentoring programs. Click here for a short self-assessment that you can take to see where your organization stands.
Step 2: Management Fundamentals
Are the fundamentals of management being practiced? If not, why not?
Step 3: Systems-Based Management Model
Define and implement a systems-based model of management appropriate to the business. What are the key skills and practices that need to be strengthened to improve business performance?
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Raymond E. Burch is a Managing Director and partner of SKOPOS Consulting Group. An international consultant, trainer, and author, he has over 25 years' experience in consulting and training for a diverse clientele including business, government (foreign and domestic), military and education. Ray's consulting focus is on strategy management, management team development, organization survey process and consulting skills for internal staff. Ray is also Vice President, Program Leader Development, for Louis Allen Associates International (LAAI), a subsidiary of SKOPOS Consulting Group. Ray is an avid volleyball player with 40 years experience at the collegiate, armed services and club level. An All-American, he plays for the Legends team and has won eight national championships and the World Games Championship. Contact: e-mail: rburch@skopos.com; Tel: 949-679-0696.
Cris Hagen is a Principal Consultant with SKOPOS Consulting. With over 20 years of experience as a consultant, author, executive coach, management trainer, and presenter, Cris has been successful by helping organizations achieve business results while fostering a climate for professional growth and commitment to organizational objectives. Cris has served in several leadership and management roles, both in internal and external capacities. His broad background includes experience in organization design, executive coaching, leadership development, project management, strategic team building, business process improvement, organization assessment, strategic change and communications, new-technology implementation, and knowledge management. Contact: e-mail: chagen@skopos.com; Tel : 805-584-5056.
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