In my work with executives across industries, I often hear people saying “We need more leaders and fewer managers!”

When did being a manager become such a bad thing?

Maybe we are confused about what management is.  When I ask a group what they mean by the term, the most common refrain I hear is, “management is doing things right and leadership is doing the right things.”  Here are a couple of definitions that I prefer:

 Harold Koontz said, “Managing is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized groups.  It is the art of creating an environment in which people can perform as individuals and yet cooperate towards the attainment of group goals.  It is the art of removing blocks to such performance.”

In his book, The New Realities, Peter Drucker wrote, “The task of management is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant. This is what the organization is all about, and it is the reason that management is the critical, determining factor.”

I can’t imagine that the executives I am hearing from want their direct reports, mid-level leaders, and supervisors to stop ensuring that people are enabled to work together to accomplish the organizations goals! 

I think that top executives today do want these leaders to perform the function that Koontz and Drucker describe, but to use different techniques and methods to get there.  They want committed employees and they realize that “command & control” isn’t working in today’s environment.  They want results and they recognize that micro-management doesn’t deliver them. 

The truth is that managing and leading are different tasks – and that most people at the senior, mid, and supervisory levels of an organization need to be able to do both.  Instead of maligning management, let’s work to be clear about what management is, why it is needed, and the variety of mechanisms and methods available to us fulfill this important role.