A couple of years ago, I, along with 17 other leadership authorities
from around North America, was interviewed by publisher, David E. Wright.
David was interested in gleaning leadership insights, perspectives and
tactics from individuals who had dedicated themselves and their careers
to the process of understanding, practicing and promoting enhanced
leadership performance at every level.  The end result of David’s
conversations was a book entitled Conversations on Leadership.

During my conversation with David, we focused primarily on the practical
to apply it.  The thoughts I shared in 2004 are just as pertinent today
as they were then.

The Difference Between Leadership and Management

Excerpts from a 2004 interview between David E. Wright and Phillip Van Hooser.

David E. Wright (Wright)
Phil, how do you define leadership?

Phillip Van Hooser (Van Hooser)
David, leadership continues to evolve for me.  For example, I used to share
the following leadership definition with my corporate clients and audience
members.  I would say that the successful leader is the one who can get the group to accomplish established goals, with the least amount of friction, while maintaining the greatest sense of unity, while still providing individual self-realization.

Wright
That’s kind of a high-brow definition, isn’t it?

Van Hooser
Absolutely.  It should come as no big surprise that I was working on my MBA degree about the time I coined that definition.  It may have served as a good answer to some essay question posed in some Masters level management class I was taking, but relative to practical leadership application, it served no worthwhile purpose at all. 

Wright
Okay, so what is a more practical and realistic leadership definition?

Van Hooser
After years of observation, countless conversations with respected leaders and feedback from hundreds of conscientious followers who have shared with me what they respect and appreciate about their leaders, I came up with a new definition of leadership.  It consists of two primary concepts. 

#1: Leadership is the ability to offer service. 

#2: Leadership is the willingness to take action.

Service first.  In America, we are a consumer-driven economy.  We buy, sell and utilize the products and services of various suppliers and vendors every day.  As a result, we have learned that good service means meeting and occasionally exceeding expectations. 

I would argue that the same concept holds true between a leader and his or her followers.  In other words, followers have certain expectations of their leaders.  If those expectations are met and satisfied, these followers have a tendency to follow passionately, for extended periods.  On the other hand, if a follower’s expectations are not met by his/her leader, there is certain to be a breakdown of confidence after which any number of problems may occur.

As for the willingness to take action, I truly believe that with a moderate amount of thought, consideration and observation, most prospective leaders can accurately determine what their followers expect of them.  At that point, it simply becomes an act of follow through.  If we fail to act, to follow through, we in essence sabotage our leadership potential in the eyes of our followers.  The end result is that they can’t trust or respect us, because we haven’t made the effort to do all that we can do as leaders to earn their trust and respect. 

Wright
That brings me to my next question.  What do you see as being the difference between a leader and manager?

Van Hooser
I think there is a definite distinction between leadership and management.
Yet, many people work for years in their careers without recognizing the
difference.  I think I know why that is.

In my own case, I have earned an undergraduate degree in Marketing
Management.  I have earned my Masters of Business Administration degree with a concentration in management.  I worked for the first ten years of my career as a manager in FORTUNE 500 organizations. In other words, I have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours learning the fine art of planning, controlling, directing and organizing things.  That’s what most of us were taught. 

Wright
Absolutely.

Van Hooser
But people are more than things.  People need to be led, not managed.
Individuals make dozens of independent decisions every day, regardless of the specific positions they occupy.  One of the most important decisions they will continuously make is this, “Will I follow this person or not?  If so, why?  If not, why not?”

Wright
I love to interact with people.  But, how close should leaders be to their followers?

Van Hooser
We have all been told different things as we have attempted to learn specific leadership skills.    Sometimes the information and advice we receive is good.  But, we must also recognize that sometimes the information and advice we receive is bad.  Early in my career, I was advised by people more senior and more seasoned than me, that I shouldn’t get too close to the people I was attempting to lead. They explained their reasoning this way.  If I got too close to the people, when it came time to make a difficult professional decision regarding them, I wouldn’t be able to separate my personal feelings
toward them from my professional responsibilities regarding them. Therefore, it would just be easier not to get close to them at all.

Wright
I’ve certainly heard that.

Van Hooser
Unfortunately, too many of us have heard this.  I think it is a terribly short-sighted and misleading perspective.  I take a fundamentally different approach.  This is exactly what I tell my client groups.  You can be a manager without getting close to your people.  It happens every day.  Remember, managers are good at managing things, not people.  On the other hand, you can’t be a leader unless you get close to people.  Consider this question.
Why in the world would somebody consciously choose to follow someone
who has intentionally not taken time to get to know him/her?  I’m not talking about dating them, or going on vacation with them or having them over for cookouts every weekend.  I am talking about getting to know them for who they are, understanding their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations, but also understanding their fears, anxieties and concerns.  Let’s face it.  The more a leader knows about his or her follower, the more successful he or she is going to be in relating to that follower as they work and grow together.