Leadership vs. Management

There is a huge difference between these two concepts, leadership and management. Some individuals see them as the same, and in my blunt opinion, that is why there are disgruntled workers. Managers can be great at getting things done. In fact, people most fit to serve as managers are those who really zoom in on the results, the bottom line. Those individuals who are share that bottom line thinking work well together because they see the objective and, barring any strong personality conflicts, they set aside all of their personal feelings to focus only on accomplishing their task.

Leaders, however, take on a much larger role than that. Getting the job done is still critical, but other concepts come into focus, such as respect, fairness, growth, and development. Getting the job done sometimes may be overridden because of concerns that are not directly related to the job itself. Tasks and objectives are no longer measured simply as whether it generates more profit or increases our prestige; they are also measured by whether the action is consistent with our personal or organization values, whether it hurt or helps the people involved, and how can we learn from this action, beyond just what worked and what didn't.

I am finally ending my major involvements with the youth community. This is not to say that I will never work with youth again. In fact, quite the contrary, I want to continue to work with youth, and the hungry minds, innovation, and energy that comes with it. However, I need to focus on my own growth and development. I have learned a lot from my involvement, but I need to get my butt to law school!

The biggest lesson that I have learned has been that while all leaders must be managers, managers are not necessarily leaders. Beyond just the task at hand, we must ALWAYS consider how it affects the people involved, because people are not tasks or items on a to-do list, people are people, human beings, all of whom are deserving of our utmost respect.