Understanding whether leadership and management are the same or different seems important if we are to try to improve either one. If you ask 10 experts you may well get several different answers, and some suggest the words ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are interchangeable despite these terms being usefully differentiated. Unfortunately this has resulted in many organisations investing in management skills training programs in hopes of creating better leaders, when what they truly need is an effective leadership development program.

At MarkTwo, we understand this difference and have specialised over the last 13 years in creating both better managers and leaders. Management skills have a very important role to play in the effective running of an organisation, however, leadership development requires a significantly different approach.

To lead better we have to change ourselves and this change is about becoming more of who we are - not less! It starts with self-awareness because we can only lead others to the extent we are self-aware. This is the key difference between leadership and management course. One thing is clear: we can all improve our leadership and to do so helps those around us.

In the video below the CEO, Mark Oliver, answers perceptive questions from CEOs of major corporations after his presentation: Leadership versus Management (attended by 600 CXOs during his seminar series through India):

Leadership Styles for "Different States of Follower"*

James Macgregor Burns, the former president of the US Political Science Association, puts it best. In essence he says: The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power. If you have a loaded gun put to your head, then you may do things you might not otherwise do, but that is an example of coercion or power. Leadership arises in situations where people have the freedom to choose to follow or not to follow. Good leaders can win hearts and minds.

*This is not Situational Leadership which describes different types of management behaviour

3 Markers to Start Assessing your Leadership

1) What is the long term impact of your leadership on others? (start measuring the long term impacts on people...)

2) How do your followers assess your leadership? (interpreting the feedback they give you - and it is a bad sign if they do not give you any...)

3) How much are you sacrificing your own needs and desires when leading? (read how leadership and love are connected...)

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Testimonial (read more...)

I did want to thank you for a fantastic course. I found it very interesting, it was well structured and I really enjoyed the mix of theory and practical work. I believe I have taken away a lot of positive things from the course and have been able to identify in my private life (as well as work) ways to put the lessons into practice... I would love to extend the course into another phase - Marika Calfas, General Manager Planning, Sydney Ports Corporation