Maybe there was a time the job of a leader and a manager could be completely separated.
But in today’s tax and accounting firms, where workers are no longer interchangeable cogs in a machine, people look to their managers for more than just assignments, reviews and approvals.
Great firms know that their managers need to do more than just assign jobs; they need also to define purpose. Firms need leaders and managers both to help nurture talent, optimize efficiency, and inspire results.
It was the late great management guru Peter Drucker who first said that “one does not manage people.” Instead, “The task is to lead people. And the goal is to make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of every individual.”
That said, in his 1989 book “On Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences between leaders and managers. As you review this list, consider how the roles between leader and manager may already be blurring in your firm.
– The manager administers; the leader innovates.
– The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
– The manager maintains; the leader develops.
– The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
– The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
– The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
– The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
– The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.
– The manager imitates; the leader originates.
– The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
– The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
– The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
