The Leadership versus Management conversation is a long one, and one that I certainly don’t expect to settle today. However, while working with one of our client companies I had some thoughts that I wanted to share.

Many of us would agree with the simple statement that, “All Leaders must be Managers, but not all Managers need be Leaders.”

The challenge is, if you are in a Leadership role, you must also employ some Management skills as well as demonstrate and insist upon some Management standards. Managers are focused on getting the job done. This is the job, do it, and do it to the standards (quality, time, etc.) expected.

Leaders must also hold their team to certain standards, but for a different reason.

The Leader should be focused on Values. And these Values of the team should result in the work being done, and being done to certain standards. The Leader must be committed that his team know and have complete buy-in to the Values of the organization and the Leader, and in having that buy-in, the team members then perform as an expression of demonstrating and completing the values.

It is this buy-in of Values that results in innovation, drive, and exceeding standards. Management will result in the fulfillment of certain objectives, but these objectives are met merely to check off the box. Job complete.

The goal of the Manager is to get the job done.

The goal of the Leader is to realize a vision.