Leading Vs. Managing in Change

Kotter, J. (2013, August 15). The key differences between leading and managing [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEfgCqnMl5E

In essence, the difference between leadership and management lies in their focus and functions within an organization.

Management involves a set of processes aimed at ensuring the smooth functioning of systems within an organization. These processes typically include planning, budgeting, organizing, problem-solving, and decision-making. Managers are responsible for executing these processes to ensure that the organization operates effectively and efficiently according to established protocols and procedures.

On the other hand, leadership revolves around creating a vision for the future and inspiring and motivating others to work towards that vision. Leaders focus on setting goals, aligning people with the vision, and creating an environment where individuals are empowered to contribute their best efforts. Effective leadership involves guiding the organization through change, seizing opportunities, navigating challenges, and elevating performance standards.

In summary:

• Management ensures the organization functions as intended, focusing on processes and systems.

• Leadership sets the direction for the organization, creating a compelling vision and inspiring others to achieve it.

It's crucial for individuals within an organization to understand the distinction between leadership and management to ensure that both aspects are effectively addressed to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. Overemphasizing management at the expense of leadership can hinder an organization's ability to adapt and thrive in turbulent times.

Hodges, J. (2021). Managing and leading people through organizational change (2nd Edition). Kogan Page.

The chapter "Leading people through" from Julie Hodges' book "Managing and Leading People Through Organizational Change" delves into the critical role of leadership in driving and managing change within organizations. Here's a breakdown of the key points and implications provided in the chapter:

1. Leadership vs. Management: Leadership is distinguished from management as it primarily focuses on producing change, transformation, and disruption, while management emphasizes maintaining order and consistency within the organization.

2. Processes of Leadership: Leadership is portrayed as a process that can be developed by individuals, involving actions that translate into acts of leadership. These actions include creating a sense of purpose, providing sponsorship, building commitment and collaboration, being present, and infusing enthusiasm and energy.

3. Transformational Change: Hodges emphasizes the importance of strong leadership during unprecedented transformational change, such as the one brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Transformational change differs from everyday incremental change not only in its objectives but also in its process, size, scope, and impact on the organization.

4. Roles of Managers and Leaders: Both managers and leaders have roles to play in organizational change. While leaders envision, initiate, and sponsor change, managers carry it forward and build support within business units and key functions. Managers focus more on short-term goals, whereas leaders focus on the long-term vision.

5. Leadership Philosophies for Change: Different leadership philosophies, such as adaptive leadership, authentic leadership, distributed leadership, ethical leadership, servant leadership, and shared leadership, may be suitable depending on the type and scale of change. Each philosophy offers unique approaches to leading change effectively.

6. Enablers of Change: Several factors are identified as enablers of successful organizational change, including a sense of purpose, clarity, connection, goals, passion, sense-making, commitment, sponsorship, collaboration, agility, energy, presence, engagement of middle managers, measurement of engagement, power and politics management, adaptability, and alignment.

7. Challenges of Leading Change: Challenges in leading change include adaptability, making bold decisions, role modeling desired behaviors, and dealing with power and politics within the organization.

8. Implications for Leading Change: Hodges provides practical implications for leading change, such as involving leaders at all levels, asking for recommendations from organizational members, encouraging innovation, learning from failure, supporting managers, and leading by example.

Overall, the chapter emphasizes the multifaceted nature of leadership in driving and managing organizational change, highlighting the importance of various leadership philosophies and enablers for successful change implementation.