The Difference Between Managing, Leading, and Developing People

Research & Sources / Leadership & Decision-Making

A train timetable makes sure trains leave on time. A compass shows where north is when there are no tracks. A swimming coach stands at the pool and helps you swim better yourself. Three useful tools, three very different jobs. Managing, leading and developing people are like that. Good leaders know which one the moment needs.

Managing: the timetable

Managing is about making things work reliably. Plans, budgets, schedules, processes, checking quality, solving problems so tomorrow runs as smoothly as today.

John Kotter of Harvard Business School described management as coping with complexity: without it, large organisations become chaotic.¹ Management sometimes gets a bad name, as if it were boring. It is not. A train that never leaves on time is not exciting either.

Leading: the compass

Leading is about direction and change. Where are we going, why does it matter, and how do we get people to want to go there together?

Kotter described leadership as coping with change: setting a direction, aligning people behind it and motivating them to move.¹ When the tracks run out, because the market shifts, a new technology arrives or the company grows into something new, the timetable no longer helps. You need a compass.

Developing people: the swimming coach

Developing people is about helping a person grow and solve problems themselves. You ask questions, give feedback and help people find their own answers, instead of handing them the solution.

In Google’s long study of what makes managers effective, being a good coach came out as one of the most important behaviours of all.² Developing people takes a little more time today and saves a lot of time later, because people learn to swim on their own.

Why you need all three

Many leaders have one favourite mode. Some love structure and become pure managers: everything runs, nothing changes. Some love vision and become pure leaders: lots of exciting direction, but nothing is ever quite finished. Some love people and develop them endlessly, while urgent decisions wait.

The skill is switching. A few examples:

• A new team member needs a clear process: manage.
• The team is unsure why a big change is happening: lead.
• An experienced person is stuck on a problem they could solve: develop.
• There is a crisis with a key client this afternoon: manage, quickly.

The most common mistake

The most common mistake is managing when people need room to grow. A capable person brings you a problem, you solve it in two minutes, everyone is happy. Next week they bring the next problem. You have become their answer machine.

The second most common mistake is asking questions when people need clarity. Asking “what do you think we should do?” to someone who simply needs to know the deadline is frustrating, not empowering.

What this means for you this week

• Look at your last ten conversations with your team. Which mode were you in?
• Pick one person who keeps bringing you problems and ask questions instead of answering.
• Pick one area that keeps going wrong and give it a clear process.
• Explain the direction of one current change in two sentences to your whole team.

Timetable, compass, coach. The best journeys need all three.

Sources

1. Kotter, J. P. (2001). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgManagement copes with complexity (planning, organising, controlling); leadership copes with change (direction, alignment, motivation). Organisations need both.
2. Google re:Work. Following the data: The research behind great managers (Project Oxygen). rework.withgoogle.comBehaviours of Google’s most effective managers: coaching, empowering, communicating, a clear vision; technical skill is only one of them.