“Leadership is lifting a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
– Peter Drucker
Is there a difference between management and leadership? Can you have one without the other?
In the words of Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis the answer is yes and no:
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
What does that mean?
It means yes: management follows leadership. Leadership sets the course; management plots the course.
It means no: you can have one without the other but it really is a bad idea.
Today’s quote was immediately preceded in the original text by:
“Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not “making friends and influencing people”, that is flattery.”
Drucker warns us that leadership isn’t about glib tongues and flattery, it is about elevating a person. The purpose of leadership is not about you, it is about the other person.
Three questions for you to ponder:
- Do you think leadership and management are the same or different?
- How do you manage and how do you lead?
- How do you elevate the people around you?
Please use the comments section below, I’d love to see your answers.