Discerning

the Differences
Between Managers
and Leaders
By J. Gregory Reynolds and Walter H. Warfield
From The Illinois School Board Journal

S
CHOOLS today continue to
evolve into increasingly com-
plex organizations, as the di-
versity of students continues to
expand. In tandem with these de-
velopments is the expectation for
all students to meet increasingly
higher learning standards—thus
the vision of maximum education-
al success for all students.
Escalating standards and chang-
ing demographics place new de-
mands on educational leaders.
Knowledge in the traditional areas
of school finance, law. personnel,
curriculum, instruction, and state
mandates was once the focus for
preparing school administrators.
Today, federal and state educa-
tional reforms coupled with in-
creased accountability create an
urgent need for development of
leadership skills to promote stu-
dent achievement as measured by
sound academic assessments.
Moreover, today's educational
leaders must recognize and as-
sume shared responsibility not
only for the intellectual and edu-
cational development of students,
but also for their personal, social,
emotional, and physical develop-
ment. These changes in diversity,
standards, and demands in school
communities place a premium on
school leaders able to create a
vision of success for all students,
and use their skills in communica-
tion, collaboration, and building
learning communities within the

J. Gregory Reynolds is a visiting assistant professor and Walter H. Warfield

is a scholar in residence at ttie University of Illinois at Springfield. Condensed,
with permission, from The Illinois School Board Journal, 77 (September-
October 2009), 26-29. Published by the Illinois Association of School Boards,
Springfield, IL.

March 2010 61
 THE EDUCATION DIGEST
schools to ensure that the vision
of educational excellence becomes
a reality.
Educational Visionaries
Effective leadership plays a vital
role in setting the direction for suc-
cessful schools. This is true for all
schools, whether the leader is a
school board member, superinten-
dent, principal, or teacher. More
than ever, educational visionaries
and authentic leaders are needed.
It has generally been accepted that
leaders are born, not made. Yet,
contrary to this belief, research
shows that leaders are made,
not born. Leaders are those who
have the desire and willpower to
be effective, and learn what true
leadership is, and is not.
Schools have traditionally been
full of quality managers but des-
perately short of leaders. "Lead-
ership" and "management" are
terms often used interchangeably
in meaning and application. How-
ever, this is simply not the case. By
definition and in practice, leader-
ship and management are differ-
ent functions requiring different
skill sets. In short, managers have
subordinates, while leaders have
followers.
Examine the difference in de-
scriptors between management
and leadership:
• Managers administer. They
ask how and when, focus on the
system, maintain, rely on control,
have a short-term perspective.
62 www.eddigest.com
accept the status-quo, imitate,
and copy,
• Leaders innovate. They ask
what and why, focus on people, de-
velop, inspire trust, have long-term
perspective, challenge the status
quo, originate, and show original-
ity.
In their 2007 book The Leader-
ship Challenge, James M. Kouzes
and Barry Z. Posner, both from
Santa Clara University, provide a
blueprint for real deveiopment of
leaders, and in this case, school
leaders. Their research found four
leadership characteristics that an-
nually come to the top in 60% of all
leadership surveys:
• Honest—Truthful, ethical,
principled
• Forward-looking—Vision,
goal, imagination
• Inspiring—Enthusiasm, ex-
citement, passion, optimistic
• Competent—Track record,
relevant experience, sound judg-
ment
These components matter great-
ly, as exemplary leaders must be
credible in their actions and clear
about their beliefs. Their actions
must match their words. People
trust leaders when their actions
match their words. People follow
leaders when they trust them.
To conduct the research, Kouz-
es and Posner collected thousands
of stories of exceptional leadership
from leaders in many different ar-
eeis. Despite differences in leaders'
personal-best stories, their experi-
 Discerning the Differences Between Managers, Leaders
enees revealed similar patterns
of behavior. The study found that
when leaders are at their personal
best, they:
• Model the way—Leaders estab-
lish principles concerning the way
people should be treated and the
way goals should be pursued. They
create standards of excellence and
then set an example for others to
follow. Because the prospect of
complex change can overwhelm
people and stifle action, they set
interim goals so that people can
achieve small wins as they work
toward larger objectives. They un-
ravel bureaucracy when it impedes
action; they put up signposts when
people are unsure of where to go or
how to get there; and they create
opportunities for victory.
• Inspire a shared vision—Lead-
ers passionately believe that they
can make a difference. They envi-
sion the future, creating an ideal
and unique image of what the or-
ganization can become. Through
their magnetism and quiet persua-
sion, leaders enlist others in their
dreams. They breathe life into their
visions and get people to see excit-
ing possibilities for the future.
• Challenge the process—Lead-
ers search for opportunities to
change the status quo. They look
for innovative ways to improve
the organization. In doing so, they
experiment and take risks. And
because leaders know that risk
taking involves mistakes and fail-
ures, they accept the inevitable
i March 2010
disappointments as learning op-
portunities.
• Enable others to act—Leaders
foster collaboration and build spir-
ited teams. They actively involve
others. Leaders understand that
mutual respect is what sustains ex-
traordinary efforts; they strive to
create an atmosphere of trust and
human dignity. They strengthen
others, making each person feel
capable and powerful.
• Encourage the heart—Ac-
complishing extraordinary things
in organizations is hard work. To
keep hope and determination alive,
leaders recognize contributions
that individuals make. In every
winning team, the members need
to share in the rewards of their
efforts, so leaders celebrate ac-
complishments. They make people
feel like heroes.
Kouzes and Posner also found
that leadership can be learned. It is
a skill mastered from applying the
lessons learned from the research.
It is a myth that only a lucky few
can be true leaders.
First though, you must believe
that leadership applies to you,
and that leadership development
is self-development. Integrity and
humility must be at the top of the
list. No one can do the total job
alone. Leaders are human and
need help.
Constituents look for leaders
who demonstrate an enthusiastic
and genuine belief in the capacity
of others to help do the job. A true
63
 THE EDUCATION DIGEST
leader strengthens people's will to
achieve and supplies the means to
make achievement possible. They
also have a vision and express op-
timism and hope for the future.
An authentic and exceptional
leader must love leading and care
about the people they work with
and the organization in which
they work.
Being Effective Leaders
Effective leadership is at the
core of every successful organiza-
tion. Effective leaders collabora-
tively create a vision and establish
a climate for people in the organi-
zation to reach the highest level of
achievement. They communicate
the vision and work with others to
achieve the vision. They mobilize
resources and promote collabora-
tive activities among people in the
organization to achieve the agreed
upon goals.
Effective leaders recognize their
own strengths. In doing so, they
also recognize their weaknesses
and attract competent people
thereby enhancing the organiza-
tion in its quest for achieving the
goals, whatever they are. Leaders
cultivate and focus on strengths.
They eliminate many organiza-
tional weaknesses and alleviate
those they cannot eliminate. They
embrace change as an opportu-
nity for growth rather than as an
obstacle to be overcome. They
lead their organization through the
uncertainty of change, whatever
64 www.eddigest.com
it is and whenever it is needed.
Effective leaders seek advice
and guidance from the knowledge
and experiences of others while
they freely offer their expertise and
insight to others.
The task for educational leaders
is to educate all students, each to
the maximum of their individual
ability, to reach for and achieve
ever higher learning standards and
become lifelong learners.
Research also shows that the
leadership skills needed today are
different from those of the past.
Today's school leaders are those
who create a vision of success
for all students, value diversity,
and provide effective instruction-
al leadership for high student
achievement. They are key to
educational success because it is
their responsibility to set the tone.
Authentic leaders will and must
definethe path for educational and
personal success for all students,
now and in the future. •
"Please move away from
the smoke alarm. Dad,"
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