Management And Leadership: Which Skills Are More Important To Managers?

One question I get asked a lot when I’m working with managers is, “what’s the difference between management training and leadership training, and which one is more helpful in becoming a more effective manager?”  I used to try and channel my inner Mr. Miyagi and say, “leadership and management are parts of the whole, like inhaling and exhaling are parts of the whole breath.  Both you need.” (Ok, I get my inner Mr. Miyagi and my inner Yoda mixed up … it happens.) 

I quickly figured out that I’m no Mr. Miyagi (it was the “ok, jackass, not helpful” looks that gave it away).  Fair enough … but remember, just because Daniel-san didn’t understand “Wipe-on” and “Wipe-off” at first, doesn’t mean it wasn’t good advice, and it actually made sense … when he had a bit more context.

So, let me give you a bit more context on why developing management and leadership capabilities are both equally important when looking to become a more effective manager.

Leadership

“Leadership is an action, not a position.” (Donald McGannon)

I love this simple, easy-to-remember definition.  Through this lens, leadership is viewed more like a process of social influence versus a position or role.  While this definition implies that anyone can lead, no matter their title or role, in the case of a manager, the greatest influence you can have on your team is through establishing the “what” (i.e. goals) they should be working toward and the “why” it’s important (for a more in-depth exploration of the impact of “purpose” on employee productivity, check out this article by McKinsey & Co).  How effectively you go about establishing these important answers with your team directly impacts their engagement, satisfaction, and ultimately your success.

There’s no one “best way” to establish the “what” and “why” for a team.  Good leadership training programs will focus on helping you develop capabilities to better influence others, and it’s up to you to figure out how to best apply the concepts to your unique team. Three programs that I recommend are:

• DiSC which promotes self-awareness,
• Situational Leadership or Situational Leadership II* and
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

 *These two are fundamentally the same programs with some philosophical differences only really noted/important to people who study the theory.

Management

“Management is about getting work done through others.” (Peter Drucker)

Another definition I like for its simplicity and practicality.  A manager, by virtue of your position, is someone who is responsible for getting work done through others and is accountable for the work’s outcome.  Through this lens, management (the acts of a manager) is not just about influencing others (like leaders do), but also about aligning on expectations of what needs to be done, when, by whom, and, if it’s important, how it’s done.

As a manager, you can’t do all the work by yourself, and if you’re having to do the work of your direct reports, we need to talk – you’re screwing yourself over.  A manager is tasked with more work than you can reasonably be expected to do, and so you need others to help do the work, AND you’re accountable for their output – did it meet standards? Was it done on time? Was it completed in a way that was expected? Managers need to have the practical, tactical skills and understanding of how to set these expectations with direct reports.

There are a lot of different programs that teach managers how to do specific managerial tasks.  Linkedin Learning and Udemy are two that provide self-paced, online courses on specific manager skills.

Two Parts of the Whole

“Leaders don’t need to manage, but managers need to lead.” (Mark Roth)

So hopefully, now when I say “leadership and management are parts of the whole, like inhaling and exhaling are parts of the whole breath,” you still roll your eyes, but you get what I mean.  As a manager having a healthy mix of both leadership and management capabilities is essential to your effectiveness in your role. 

Knowing how to effectively establish the what, why, how, when, etc. is critical for manager success. If you focus primarily on developing leadership skills without building up management abilities, you’ll be left with a significant gap when it comes time to get work done through others. 

On the flip side, if you just take courses that teach management skills without developing your leadership capabilities, you are going to struggle to engage and motivate your team through challenging times or tasks (like when COVID hits or when the sh!$ hits the fan at work), which can lead you down an unwanted path of failure in the long run! 

As a manager, to be effective in your role, you need both. 

Developing Your Skills

Once managers understand that they need both, their next question is almost always, “what’s the best way to develop the skills … and can you help?” The short answer is yes, and there are a variety of ways:

Individuals

If you’re a manager looking to develop your skills, your approach depends on the type of learning and development support that your company provides:

• No support – if your company is too small to offer manager training, no problem; use my suggestions above to get you started.  You can also set up a coaching session with us, and we can talk through options using our Manager Essentials Blueprint to help you craft a custom development plan for yourself.
• Some support – if your company offers programs that focus on manager and leadership skills but no coaching or development guidance, also not a problem.  Take a moment and reflect on where you’re struggling in your role as a manager and, based on that assessment, find the programs that will help you address those gaps.  Again, you can also set up a coaching session with us to help you think through options using our Manager Essentials Blueprint.

Company

If you’re responsible for the development of the managers in your company, there’s help for you too:

• No systemic need, just pockets – if you’re just noticing some needs for a specific department but not the whole company, the good news is you don’t need to have a fully thought-out program.  Look for where the biggest business pain points are and solve those, but do it in such a way that you’ll be able to use those same programs again in the future when other groups or new managers may need them.  Eventually, you’ll have a full portfolio of learning programs supporting your managers’ development.  If you want to “build for now, but plan for the future,” we can help you using our Manager/Leader Development Framework.  Contact me to set up a consultation session.
• Systemic need – if all your managers need development, then I’d suggest you be a bit more strategic in your approach.  Sure you implement what you think they need now.  With that said, I’d suggest we talk and walk through our Manager Essentials Blueprint, which was built based on research and 25 years of experience working with companies globally to strategically develop their managers.

So, if you’re looking to be a more effective manager and want to develop your skills, make sure you have a healthy mix of both leadership and management capabilities. You can find out more about these skills by checking out my other blogs or reaching out to me for more information. I’d be happy to chat with you!