Management vs. Leadership

Yesterday, as I was reading Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 habits of highly effective people" published in 2004; the following quote immediately jumped out to me on page 101:

"Management is the efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall..."

This quote...snugged comfortably in Habit #2..."Begin with the end in mind," in my view truly captures the essence of Covey's publication. As managers and professionals, we get so caught up with doing things 'right'- having procedures in place, creating manuals and the like; but are we doing the 'right' things? Are we strategic thinkers and innovators? Are we only efficient and not effective? Are we LEADERS in our own right?

Covey states that we are stuck in the "Management Paradigm"- using the map instead of the compass....A leader is the head, a guide and chief motivator. If we are pinned by the day-to-day runnings- how can we truly lead? Have we empowered those around us to enable us to lead? Can we strike the balance of Managing and Leading? Should one be sacrificed? I believe that Management and Leadership go hand in hand- we have to master the art of managing ourselves and others for us to effectively lead through strategies of employee empowerment, engagement and enlargement to name a few ....Let's use BOTH the Map & the Compass!

Share your thoughts!