Does Management Matter?

This question of management and leadership is one that I think is really important.  As I continue to develop my management courses, it occurred to me that I'm going to have to convince people that this "management stuff" actually adds value.  I'm not saying that leadership is not crucial, because it is!  However, the management piece cannot be left out of the equation.

Here are some articles that I found today that discuss the topic:

- Managers vs. Leaders - Robert Tanner explains that, "managers ask the 'how' and 'who' questions," and "leaders ask the 'what' and 'why' questions in an organization."  I thought that this was a great distinction and something that was recently brought to my attention.  I tend to jump straight to trying to answer those operational questions of "how" and "who" as soon as ideas are presented.  All of these questions are important, but people who think managerially can drive leaders crazy with constantly wanting to discuss the implementation of their ideas. 
- Why Isn't My Leader Great - Lee Cockerell says that one of the traits that we should ensure that our leaders have is that they are good managers.  This reinforces something that I have always believed.  He does stress that you can't get bogged down in your management responsibilities.  Good point.

- It Takes Leadership - As the title would suggest, this article is about the importance of leadership but also makes several points about the importance of management.  Such as, "Leadership is something people need, whereas a process is something that can be managed. Both are necessary to make and implement decisions effectively, and to execute strategy."

More to come...