Reading John Kotter's 'Leading Change', he makes the point that many organisations conflate management with leadership, yet they are far from being the same thing:
"Management makes a system work. It helps you do what you know how to do. Leadership builds systems or transforms old ones."
…and…
"Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem solving. Leadership is a set of processes that creates organizations in the first place or adapts them to significantly changing circumstances. Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles."
In the context of organisational change and transformation, most of us think about 'managing change', when what is really needed is the ability to lead change. An important difference.
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