Managers v Leaders

I read this story recently in the Daily Telegraph.

Bloodless bean-counters rule over us – where are the leaders?

It makes interesting reading. Much of the article is about the rise of ‘managerialists’ who are running companies based mostly on management theory and less on understanding the business they are in. Many people I meet on the front line of organisations want their management, especially their immediate managers, to have had experience in their products and the processes they are running. Now, if this happens continuously then new ideas are less likely, unless the person joins from another organisation in the same field.

Of course there is a need for people who understand how to ‘manage’ generically, for managers with industry knowledge, definitely a need for those who can ‘lead’ (with or without industry knowledge) and there is a need for a balance of them all.

Image credit: terren in Virginia via flickr