Leadership is about leading people, not things – that’s management!
I was doing an inclusive leadership series in Reykjavik, Iceland, and came across this Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat. It depicts the faceless, thankless, everyday civil servant who just gets on with their work without fanfare or formalities. Then it occurred to me that as satirical as the tribute might be, it is a celebration of management not leadership. Leadership is about leading people, not things – that’s management.
I am dismayed when I witness institutions promoting someone into a leadership position who is an astute pen-pusher. Bright, sharp, but a pen-pusher. Don’t get me wrong. Bureaucrats are an essential part of the administrative process and are to be applauded for their fastidious attention to detail, their analysis of complex data and their stickability to the task come rain or shine. And we can’t live without them. However, they are not leaders. Hear me out.
The manager is not terribly concerned about the bigger picture, nor the people. They can afford to be as the monument connotes, shortsighted, insular, without a need to break out of the block! But you can’t superimpose this monument on a true leader. A leader can’t afford to be shortsighted or insular and they need to be able to break out of the block.
People often confuse competence in managing things with leadership. Leadership is about leading people, not things – that’s management. You cannot manage people, stakeholders or staff. You can only lead them – their agency, their emotional wellbeing, their cultural disposition, their passion, their vision. You have to like them, believe in them, feel for them, trust them. You have to like people. On the other hand, you can only manage things, processes and tasks. Such management, monitoring and analysis give us a clearer picture of operations, incomes and expenses and the like. But they don’t tell us anything about character, motivation and equity. These are the sustainable qualities that keep organisations going (and growing).
When thinking of your next leader for promotion, think: “Is this person a leader or a manager?” If a leader, then how is (s)he a leader of people?
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