Description
John P. Kotter’s “What Leaders Really Do” argues that leadership and management are two distinct, yet complementary, systems of action. While management focuses on coping with complexity, leadership is primarily about coping with change.
The deeper distinction lies in how each system handles three fundamental tasks:
1. Deciding What Needs to be Done
Management (Planning and Budgeting): Managers set targets for the near future, establish detailed steps to reach them, and allocate resources to make it happen.
Leadership (Setting a Direction): Leaders do not create plans; they develop a vision for the long term and strategies to achieve that vision. This process is inductive and involves looking for patterns and relationships in a large amount of data.
2. Creating Networks of People
Management (Organizing and Staffing): Managers create organizational structures, staff them with qualified individuals, and delegate responsibility for carrying out the plan.
Leadership (Aligning People): Leaders communicate the vision to everyone whose cooperation is needed. Alignment is a communication challenge that involves getting people to believe in a new future and take the initiative.
3. Ensuring Success
Management (Controlling and Problem Solving): Managers monitor results against the plan, identify deviations, and organize to solve problems.
Leadership (Motivating and Inspiring): Leaders appeal to basic human needs for achievement, belonging, and self-esteem. They empower people to overcome the inevitable barriers to change by satisfying their deeper psychological needs.
Developing “Leader-Managers”
Kotter emphasises that most modern corporations are overmanaged and underled. He suggests that:
Leadership is not a mystical trait like “charisma” but a set of behaviours that can be learned and honed.
The ultimate goal is to develop individuals who can perform both roles, as strong leadership with weak management can lead to chaos.
First edition hardcover. 184 pages. In good to very good condition with the exception of use of a highlighter on selected pages.
