The 14 Pivotal Points of Differentiation between Management and Leadership

1.??????Defining Management and Leadership - a scholarly perspective

There is often debate between the similarities, differences and synergies between management and leadership. From a scholarly perspective, du Toit et.al (2007), define management as a process of activities that are carried out to enable a business to accomplish its goals by employing human, financial and physical resources for that purpose. In contrast, these authors define leadership as the process of directing the behaviour of others towards the accomplishment of predetermined goals.?Furthermore, leadership is defined as the influencing and directing of the behaviour of subordinates in such a way that they willingly strive to accomplish the goals or objectives of the business.

2.??????14 Pivotal points of differentiation between management and leadership (Cotter, 2020)

Having worked directly with 178 different companies and according to my work-based research (2020), I’ve found 14 pivotal points of differentiation between management and leadership. These differences are manifested across the spectrum of the three sub-components of the anatomy of management and leadership practices, namely: mechanics; dynamics and analytics, These points of differentiation are tabulated below:

The purpose of the above tabulation is not to paint management in a negative light and/or to vilify management and to elevate leadership on a pedestal, but merely to contrast and differentiate management and leadership. Management is the cornerstone of organizational performance and the bedrock of effective leadership. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that management and leadership are not mutually exclusive and that there should be a perpetual quest of discovery to find a hybrid solution i.e. becoming a Leading Manager – a manager with exceptional leadership skills.

?3.?The 7 E’s of the Pathway to Actualizing to a Leading Manager (Cotter, 2018)

?The 7-step leadership development process map is listed below:

• ?Step #1: Creating a Vision (ENLIGHTENED)
• Step #2: Articulating that vision in a Compelling and Inspirational manner (ELOQUENT)
• Step #3: Exercising Positive and Constructive Influence (ENGAGER)
• Step #4: Guiding and Supporting followers in the pursuit of achievement of the vision (ENCOURAGER)
• Step #5: Serving as a Role Model (ETHICAL)
• Step #6: Nurturing, Developing and Empowering followers (EMPOWERER)
• Step #7: Being a Driver and Agent of Change (ENERGISER) in a crisis

Cotter's 4I's Leadership in a crisis formula (2021):

Inspiration x

Influence x

Innovation =

Impact

I believe that a Leading Manager's most valuable asset to facilitate this impact is their credibility.

"Leadership credibility = Integrity + Expertise"

4.??????Conclusion

Although management and leadership are fundamentally different, they do complement one another. Therefore, the exploratory journey to actualizing to a Leading Manager is one of introspection, reflection and projection. The leadership development pathway is a dedicated process of intention, aspiration, inspiration and perspiration. ?

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Dr Charles Cotter, The African Maverick, is an independent global blended learning practitioner and L&D strategist, who specializes in global talent management and -development, with over 21 years' of L&D industry experience. He is regarded as an influential, L&D thought leader on social media, with a global, learning footprint and -followership.

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