My friend
Boaz Tamir nails it again. He has written
a piece about the Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva, but it applies to so many others. An excerpt:
Many
people make the mistake of thinking that "management" and "leadership"
are synonymous. But the practical implications of that mistake can lead
to organizational pathology. The story of the rise and fall of Teva is
about a Jerusalem pharmaceutical company that became an innovative
global multi-national that developed original pharmaceuticals but is now
facing a financial crisis that threatens its very existence. It is the
story of a company that lost the balance between management and
leadership: Teva is the flagship of Israeli industries, but, like most
organizations, it suffers from over-managed and under-lead, and this root
problem is casting a pall over the future of this giant company.
Managers deal with preservation. Assessment of the quality of
management is based on its ability to preserve stability and continuity
within the existing order, through organizational management and
operational standards that serve as key resources in achieving product
quality and profitability. Managers are concerned with creating and
using power: designing processes, performing mergers and acquisitions
and implementing organizational systems. And they do all this according
to business plans and budget management, while defining jobs and
manning positions, measuring performance.
Leaders are concerned
with change and effectiveness. Leaders disrupt the existing
organizational order. Leadership is neither a trait nor a job: it is a
way of behaving. And that behavior of leaders for change has two unique
qualities: a. Articulation of a vision, goal and purpose; and b.
Enlistment of interested others (customers, workers, suppliers,
stockholders and the community ) to fulfill that organizational vision.
Management and leadership are both necessary for the existence of an
organization, yet they are by nature contradictory: Management deals
with increased efficiency and gradual improvement in the current
situation, while leadership for change is directed towards disrupting
what currently exists. In a stable environment that allows for linear
growth, the balance along the preservation-change axis tips towards the
judgment of the managers. In a chaotic environment, external change
demands flexibility and readiness for internal change; the tendency to
preserve what exists becomes a hindrance that prevents adjustment to
changing reality.
From Facebook:
ReplyDeleteI have seen how stagnant an organization can become even though it is well managed. Leadership can make managers nervous as change is very disrupting to them. In their minds the status quo is the safe place to be. No growth or innovation but they retain a sense of security. This is a reason why so many successful businesses start to falter as this play it safe attitude takes away the creative edge.
This is really excellent. I have observed in my career (in hospitals), however, that some leaders articulate a vision best in a crisis and less well in stable times, while others are the opposite. It is the very best leaders who can adapt to both.
ReplyDeletenonlocal MD
Both Leadership and Management are required for any organization since both play major roles for the organization. You can separate leadership and management only based on the Designation of the person who uses either of them or both.
ReplyDelete