What is the difference between Leadership and Management? According to Neil Jurd OBE leadership is focused on people and management is focused on “stuff’”.
Neil defines leadership as:
‘increasing your impact on the world by engaging others intellectually and emotionally in pursuit of a clear and compelling purpose’.
As such key leadership activities are engaging others and defining purpose. Management applies to inanimate things such as budgets, buildings, equipment and time.
In his bestselling ‘The Leadership Book’, Neil stresses the need for a good balance between leadership and management. Too much management can lead to slow decision making and a lack or creativity and innovation; too little management leads to unsafe chaos, with payments being missed, equipment going serviced and deadlines being missed. It is the role of the leader to ensure the right balance exists between leadership and management.
This video explains the difference between leadership and management and the need for balance:
Leadership vs Management by Neil Jurd OBE
This graphic from the Leadership Book summarises the need to balance leadership and Management:
