Two different functions
In 1977 Abraham Zaleznik published in Harvard Business Review the influential article Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?, arguing that managers and leaders are different personality types. Later authors softened the claim: these are rather two functions that the same person can perform in different proportions.
The most quoted distinction comes from John Kotter (What Leaders Really Do, HBR 1990): management is about coping with complexity; leadership is about coping with change.
| Management | Leadership |
|---|---|
| planning and budgeting | setting direction, vision |
| organising and staffing | aligning people with the direction |
| controlling and problem solving | motivating and inspiring |
| predictability, order | change, often dramatic |
Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus put it in a slogan: “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing” (Leaders, 1985). The line is often attributed to Peter Drucker, but in this form it comes from Bennis and Nanus.
Why both are needed
Kotter stresses that neither is “better”. An organisation with strong management and weak leadership becomes bureaucratic and cannot change. One with strong leadership and weak management falls into chaos: the vision is inspiring but nothing gets done on time. See leading change.
In communities and Church organisations
Communities more often lack management than leadership: there are charismatic leaders but no clear roles, budget, calendar, procedures or accountability. The White Book preamble names unclear roles and succession difficulties as challenges, and its provisions cover both leadership (discernment, formation) and management (financial and managerial transparency, team leadership). That is why it speaks of “walls” - structures and standards that protect the community.
Sources
A. Zaleznik, Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?, Harvard Business Review 1977 J. P. Kotter, What Leaders Really Do, Harvard Business Review 1990 J. P. Kotter, A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management, Free Press 1990 W. Bennis, B. Nanus, Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge, Harper & Row 1985 White Book of Good Leadership Practices, preamble, bialaksiega.pl