Thursday, June 10, 2010

Can all Managers be good Leaders and viceversa?

It is my perception that leaders are born where as managers are made!.   Managers are guided by the organizational policies and procedures, structured way of management, guided by the goals and vision, and mostly go by the rule book on assigning tasks, reviewing and measuring performance.  The responsibility ends there strictly speaking.  But modern day managers also try to be good leaders.  

Leaders lead by example.  They try to set a way of working,  maintain their own pattern of dealing with issues, problem solving, team motivation and going out of the box to bring in a bonding, culture, or a phenomenon at the work place.     Leaders can become good managers because of the fact, that they command respect to get the work done without using much of authority or power to get things done.   Leader's exhibition of integrity and self-discipline, guides the team to follow.   Sometimes its because, that the leader himself is hardworking, commitment, punctual and well-organized, the team tends to follow a process in which the leader is working. This is Management by Leadership and not the Management by Objectives like in most cases how it happens with the managers and  the team.

Managers are made because of their experience, education and achievements in the corporate ladder.   Most managers would have been great leaders at times.   Managers necessarily need not have that friendship, bonding, team building,  adoration which leaders usually get from the peers and subordinates.   Leaders can be good managers for their skills of managing people, maintaining equilibrium and ability to get the work done.  Ultimately, it is the relationship of a good manager being a good leader that succeeds.   In the long run, leaders would have draw a line between personal and professional understanding to make good managers.  Assertiveness, proactive control, abiding by corporate requirements make a good leader a successful manager.   

Leaders cannot achieve business success unless they try to be good managers as well, for the passion of a leader has to be combined with the goals of management to bring in a vital factor that can define success.   Bias, discrimination, fan following, friendship, family relationships and such factors cannot come into consideration to both leaders or managers in any business environment.   This does not mean that such bonding should not exist in teams or between managers and subordinates.  But none of these factors should come in between the performance purely in the best interests of the Organizational objectives. 

From my experience, the best of managers are the best of leaders who showed empathy, consideration, motivation and team building.  The best of leaders in the long run became best of managers for they know to handle business priorities coupled with emotional quotient...after all what you deal with are People-  the biggest assets of any Organization.   The Human Potential of an Organization stay motivated, committed and dedicated only when the Senior Management not only acts as good managers but also prove to be good leaders!!

5 comments:

Sunitha said...

Superb uma...
I heard somewhere from someone that either be a good guy or be a manager....:)

Now i could make out, if they are good leaders, they can be good managers..

Unknown said...

Hi Uma,

I strongly agree with all your points in this article. All managers cannot be good leaders, but all good leaders can become good managers.

Regards,
Jyoti

Umasree said...

Thanks Sunitha and Jyoti. Hope to hear more comments on this topic.

Narayya said...

Thanks for the write up. It is indeed a helpful thought for any aspiring Manager or you call current leaders. I would like to add one point which i came across sometime back. Leaders are the who manage people and Managers are the who manage leaders...

Dhananjay said...

First thing which comes to my mind for this thought is "No".
All Managers cant be good leaders. There is really a big difference between Leaders and Managers.
Leader is one, who set the trend to be followed. Leader comes up with innovation, new trends, strategy which cant be easily given by general manager crowd.
Manager is one who generally do the regular task for the goal provided/set. Manager generally focus on the target given to them.
But still there are few managers who have leadership quality.

Regards
Dhananjay