Leadership and Management

I’m finding John Kotter’s book What Leaders Really Do to be very helpful. Kotter tackles a number of important topics: the one implied by the title, as well as the differences between leadership and management, and why transformation efforts fail.

John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do

Leadership is a murky topic, especially in the church. Some overemphasize leadership. Others dismiss it completely. I always find it ironic that the anti-leadership movement often seems to be to be very well led. Irony abounds.

Here are some notes I took from a section of the book that I found particularly helpful:

• Leadership is not about charisma or exotic personality traits, nor does it belong to a select few.

• Most organizations are over-managed and under-led.

• Leadership and management are complementary. Both are needed. Contrary to popular opinion, you can manage and lead at the same time.

• Management is about coping with complexity. Leadership is about coping with change.

• Management is more deductive, and designed to produce orderly results. Leadership is more inductive, and creates visions and strategies, not plans.

• Visions and strategies don’t need to be brilliantly innovative. The best are not.

Leadership isn’t everything, nor is it nothing. I find books like this one helpful as I continue to wrestle with the nature of leadership, particularly within the church.