107

COLUMN / CHRONIQUE

Leadership 101
Column 2: Leadership versus management —
Either, or, both?
Laurie Scott

This series of columns addressing

108the topic of leadership is • The manager imitates; the leader originates.
based on the Canadian Health Libraries Association / As- • The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
sociation des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada (CHLA / • The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his
ABSC) accredited course “Discover the Leader in You: De- own person.
veloping and Realizing your Leadership Potential”, devel- • The manager does things right; the leader does the right
oped and delivered by D. Phelan, L. Scott, and W. Glover. thing.1
Interested readers are encouraged to join the CHLA / Bennis is, perhaps, a bit hard on managers. Not all man-
ABSC Leadership Interest Group (http://www.chla- agers have leadership potential, nor do all management posi-
absc.ca/?q=en/node/217). tions require incumbents to lead. A good administrator is
For many people, leadership is frequently associated with worthy of respect, and there is a strong role for such individ-
management or administration. Indeed, as noted in a previ- uals in every organization.
ous column, Library Literature indexes articles dealing with So what, then, of leadership? Just as managers are not
leadership using subject headings for administration. It is necessarily leaders, so too, leaders may not be effective
possible to be a competent manager without being a strong managers. Consider the concept of a charismatic leader who
leader, and vice versa. Some individuals are able to combine can inspire people yet can’t get to a meeting on time or bal-
leadership abilities with strong administrative skills. We are ance the books! Leaders are focused on the big picture and
fortunate indeed when we are able to work with individuals may get bogged down when faced with details.
who have these qualities. More frequently, however, individ- It is important to note that leaders are not necessarily in
uals will have strengths in one or the other camp. positions of authority. It is possible to lead “from the
Effective managers and administrators have strong organi- ranks”—to inspire people and influence policy without it be-
zational, time management, interpersonal, and financial skills. ing part of one’s job description. Librarians in junior posi-
They may or may not supervise staff. They are adept at over- tions are often the people who come up with the most
seeing often complex and detailed tasks. One of the pioneers innovative ideas. Those junior librarians who have leader-
of the study of leadership, Warren Bennis, summarized his ship qualities can make their case and carry their ideas to
view of the difference between leaders and managers/adminis- fruition, to the benefit of the whole organization. Stoyko et
trators through a list of contrasting qualities and functions: al. call this concept of leading without authority being an
“idea leader”:
• The manager administers; the leader innovates. Building creative organizations requires leadership.
• The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. Leadership can be exercised at any level within an orga-
• The manager maintains; the leader develops. nization. An idea leader is someone who knows how to
• The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader spot a good idea and adapt it to suit the organization’s
focuses on people. needs…An idea leader is also someone who is conscious
• The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. of how personal actions can inadvertently affect fledgling
• The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a ideas. Creativity is often destroyed by the actions of
long-range perspective. managers who are focusing on other things.2
• The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what One leadership quality that often comes to the fore in any
and why. discussion of how leaders differ from managers (or any non-
• The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader leader) is charisma. One might suggest that an administrator
has his eye on the horizon. is unlikely to be charismatic, while it would be absolutely
1
W. Bennis. Managing the dream: Leadership in the 21st century. The Antioch Review. 1991 Winter;49(1):22.
2
P. Stoyko, G.K. Henning, D. McCaughey. Creativity at work: a leadership guide. CSPS Action-Research Roundtable on Creativity. Ottawa:
Canada School of Public Service; 2006 [retrieved 2008 Jun 23]. Available from: http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2008/csps-
efpc/SC103-23-2006E.pdf.

JCHLA / JABSC 29: 107–108 (2008)

108 JCHLA / JABSC Vol. 29, 2008

essential for a leader to have that quality. There can be little In the course, “Discover the Leader in You”, case studies
doubt of the fact that charisma will carry an individual a are used to examine the differences between management
long way, regardless of whether there is substance below the and leadership. Consider the following example:
surface. The late leadership guru Peter Drucker, in one of You are the head of a hospital library. The library advi-
his final interviews, addressed the issue of charismatic lead- sory committee is meeting and discussing the allocation
ership: of budget resources on e-journals versus print journals.
Two of the six committee members disagree strongly.
You know, I was the first one to talk about leadership One member feels the library should abandon print en-
50 years ago, but there is too much talk, too much em- tirely, citing the desire of most users to access materials
phasis on it today and not enough on effectiveness. The from outside the library and the need to free up space for
only thing you can say about a leader is that a leader is other purposes. The other member is equally adamant
somebody who has followers. The most charismatic lead- that he needs paper copies of all the important journals
ers of the last century were called Hitler, Stalin, Mao, both current subscriptions and back runs for both clinical
and Mussolini. They were mis-leaders! Charismatic lead- and research purposes. The meeting is getting bogged
ership by itself certainly is greatly overstated. Look, one down in an endless debate between these two strongly
of the most effective American presidents of the last opinionated people. You are not the chair of the advisory
100 years was Harry Truman. He didn’t have an ounce of committee, and the chair seems unable to bring the dis-
charisma. Truman was as bland as a dead mackerel. Ev- cussion under control.
erybody who worked for him worshiped him because he
was absolutely trustworthy. If Truman said no, it was no,
What action would you take to show leadership in resolv-
and if he said yes, it was yes. And he didn’t say no to ing the dispute described? Do you think a manager would
one person and yes to the next one on the same issue.3 approach it differently? If so, in what ways? Something to
ponder until the next issue!
So, charisma is not a “must have” when it comes to being
a leader, although it can be an asset to a good leader. Laurie Scott
Drucker makes an excellent point in highlighting the de- Research and Education Services
structive potential of charisma in a person who would “lead” Bracken Health Sciences Library
others in evil or, in less dramatic contexts, ill-conceived Queen’s University
causes. Perhaps a new term, “mis-leadership” should be cre- Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
ated to apply to these individuals. E-mail: [email protected]

3
R. Rich. Peter Drucker on Leadership. Forbes.com. 2004 November 19 [retrieved 2008 Jun 23]. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/
2004/11/19/cz_rk_1119drucker.html.