What Management is Not

One of the most widespread misconceptions regarding management is that it is

the same as leadership. The frequent interchange of the two terms suggests that they
have a similar meaning. They, however, do not. Based on their underlying etymology,
functions and process, these are completely distinct from each other.

According to Bavington (2005), the term "management" has three main

meanings: control, which has roots in the Latin word "manus," and caretaking, which
has roots in the French word "ménager," and coping, which is a more contemporary
definition of management. Additionally, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines
"management" as “organization, supervision, or direction; the application of skill or care
in the manipulation, use, treatment, or control of a thing or person, or in the conduct of
something."

On the other hand, Grace (2003) highlighted that the word "lead," which has
roots in "loedan" or "lithan," which implies "to travel," or "bring or take a person or an
animal." The OED defines "leadership" as: "the dignity, office, or position of a leader,
especially of a political party; ability to lead; the position of a group of people leading or
influencing others within a given context; the group itself; the action or influence
necessary for the direction or organization of effort in a group undertaking."

These definitions merely serve to demonstrate how the term "management" has
grown to refer to regulating, supervising, using skills, caring for, and responding to
existing conditions, whereas "leadership" refers to influence, persuasion, direction, and
the ability to lead in a specific environment.

Furthermore, other scholars have distinguished between management and

leadership according to their functions by describing the characteristics of managers
and leaders.

According to Schumpeter (1934), the main role of the leader is to set a new
direction for a group. However, managers control, guarantee discipline and introduce
order according to established principles. Abraham Zaleznik, the author of a landmark
essay published in the Harvard Business Review, lends credence to this assertion. In
his view, leaders and managers make important and unique contributions to
businesses. Managers encourage consistency and the maintenance of the status quo,
whereas leaders advocate for transformation and novel ideas (Zaleznik, 1977).

Bennis (1989), with the publication of his book "On Becoming a Leader," even
made a list of the distinctions between management and leadership, such as the
manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is an
original. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager focuses on
systems and structure; the leader focuses on people; the manager relies on control; the
leader inspires trust and so on.
 In this regard, it can be seen that management entails power by position,
whereas leadership involves power by influence. Leaders provide vision and inspiration,
support the people to do things, and promote change, whereas managers provide the
resources and expect results from consistency.

Besides, leadership is about knowing where the organization needs to go,

whereas management is concerned with how to get there. At a further functional level,
Maccoby (2000) notes that leaders recognize and select the talent, nurture the talent by
motivating them, coach the talent, and retain the talent by building trust; managers
however are taskmasters of planning, budgeting, evaluating, and facilitating. Hence,
managers carry out duties, exert authority, and worry about how things get done,
whereas leaders are concerned with comprehending people's values and winning their
commitment.

In addition, Kotter (1990) argues that leadership is about coping with change
while management is about coping with complexity. For Kotter, the leadership process
involves three steps: (a) developing a vision for the organization; (b) aligning people
with that vision through communication; and (c) motivating people to action through
empowerment and basic need fulfillment. In contrast, the management process involves
(a) planning and budgeting, (b) organizing and staffing, and (c) controlling and problem-
solving.

Therefore, the leadership process creates uncertainty and change in the

organization while management maintains stability. The management process reduces
uncertainty and stabilizes the organization. Hence, although management and
leadership are related, they are not identical (Bass, 2010). The etymology, functions,
and processes of management and leadership are distinct from one another because
they are not the same thing. Management and leadership cannot be interchangeably
used.

REFERENCES:

Bass, B. (1990). Bass and Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership Third Edition. New York:
Free Press.
Bavington, D. (2005). Of fish and people: Managerial ecology in New found land and
Labradore cod Fisheries. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Univerity.

Bennis, W. (1989). On becoming a leader. Perseus: Reading Mass.

Kotter, J. (1990). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 3-11.

Grace, M. (2003). Origins of Leadership: The etymology of leadership. International

Leadership Asscociation Conference, (p. 2). Jalisco, Mexico.

Maccoby, M. (2000). Understanding the difference between management and

leadership. Research Technology Management.

Schumpeter, J. (1934). Capitalism, socialism and democracy. New York: Harper and
Row Publishing Corp.

Zaleznik, A. (1997). Managers and leaders: Are they different? Harvard Business
Review, 67.