If you’ve ever found yourself in a position of authority, you’ve probably been faced with this dichotomy at least once: is leading or managing the best course of action for dealing with the current or circumstance? In fact, you will soon discover that even if you’ve never considered the difference between the two, you’ve probably had to make a decision as to which is the best course of action. You’re also about to learn how knowing the difference between the two can make you more effective and influential in any position of influence.

Are You A Leader or a Manager?

If you hope to be effective in any role of authority, the answer is that a good leader needs to be a good manager, and a good manager also needs to be a good leader. This is because leadership and management work together to provide a team or organization with the two components which are required to produce consistent positive results:

1. 1. Structure
2. 2. Momentum

Just think about this: any team or organization must have a healthy balance of structure and momentum in order to achieve the desired results. Too much momentum without proper systems in place to provide direction for that momentum can result in chaos. At the same time, too much structure and not enough momentum can lead to stagnation and the stifling of creative energy. So if you hope to build a successful team or organization, you need a harmonious balance between leadership and management.

Knowing When and How to Manage

Structure and order is the goal of effective management, and the purpose of that structure is to create a system by which your organization can consistently reproduce positive results. Without this kind of structure, resources such as: time, money and creative energy can be wasted very quickly and without a method for determining where they are going. This kind of a system can be built through the application of four principles of effective management:

• Monitoring: keeping track of current actions and the results they are producing.
• Measuring: determining the specific outcome of actions in quantifiable terms.
• Troubleshooting: determining which actions are producing the best results and which are not.
• Restructuring: Developing a system for reproducing the actions which are producing positive results and eliminating or decreasing those which are not.

Any tangible resource can and should be managed through proper application of these principles. If any one of these principles is neglected, the system will either be too rigid or too “loose” to be effective.

Knowing When and How to Lead

Momentum is the ultimate goal of effective leadership, and the purpose of that momentum is also to consistently reproduce positive results. As long as an organization is making use of the principles of management, good leadership can accelerate the success of an organization to a nearly unstoppable level. Leadership is used to motivate and inspire the people within an organization to make the best use of their specific skills and their inner drive to achieve results.

This can be accomplished through the application of four principles of effective leadership:

• Alignment: making sure that everyone is performing within the role which is best fit for their skills and inner drive.
• Incentive: providing tangible rewards for those who produce results according to clear and specific organizational expectations.
• Synergy: encouraging creative cooperation between diverse persons within an organization for the sake of achieving a mutual objective.
• Celebration: giving recognition for results produced and showing appreciation for the person who produced them.

These four principles can be used to encourage consistent action and cooperation among the members of a team. In conjunction with the principles of effective management, they produce an irresistible combination of structure and momentum which is both exciting and highly effective for achieving the goals of any organization.

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