Drucker’s Five Tasks of a Manager—and the Difference Between Managers and Leaders

A manager is someone who organizes a group of people to achieve a goal. Peter Drucker divided a manager’s work into five parts: 1. Setting objectives Managers establish the team’s overall objectives, set individual goals for each member, and determine what work is needed to achieve them. 2. Organizing Managers break the overall work into achievable tasks and decide who is responsible for each part. 3. Motivating and communicating Managers bring individuals together as a team so that they can cooperate smoothly and work toward a common goal. 4. Measuring performance Managers establish performance indicators and assessment standards, then determine whether employees have met those targets. 5. Developing people Drucker believed that people are not interchangeable parts. Each is a unique individual who must be trained and developed for the organization to perform at its best. Today, being a good manager requires being good at leading others. As Drucker put it: “You do not ‘manage’ people. Management is really about guiding, or leading, them.” Managers must learn to motivate others. Simply issuing orders is not enough; they must give employees something more—a sense of purpose. ---- Managers and Leaders In On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis provided a long comparison of managers and leaders. It includes the following: Managers administer; leaders innovate. Managers focus on systems and structures; leaders focus on people themselves. Managers rely on control; leaders inspire mutual trust. Managers take a short-term view; leaders look ahead. Managers ask “how” and “when”; leaders ask “what” and “why.” Managers watch the bottom line; leaders look toward the horizon. Managers imitate; leaders originate. Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge it. Managers are the classic good soldiers; leaders remain their own people. Managers do things right; leaders do the right things. The challenge facing modern managers—and the reason the role has become so challenging—is that you must take on all of these responsibilities. For an organization to perform at its best, managers must both manage and innovate; focus on systems and structures as well as employees; exercise control while building mutual trust; and attend to short-term objectives while pursuing long-term development. To succeed as a manager today, you must be prepared to ask all four questions: “How?” “When?” “What?” and “Why?” You need to keep an eye on the bottom line while also looking toward the distant horizon. You are expected not only to follow directions but also to challenge the status quo when necessary. Your responsibility is not merely to do things well, but to ensure that you and your organization are doing the right things. Management without leadership is bound to fail. Leadership detached from the actual work of management can be disastrous, too. Many managers fail because they set out an ambitious vision for their organization and then expect others to carry it out. “I am very much in favor of dreaming,” Stanford professor Robert Sutton says on this subject. “Many of the most unlikely and impressive things have been achieved by dreamers. But I think successful dreamers—Steve Jobs, for instance—share one characteristic: they also have a deep understanding of their industry and the people they lead, and they are generally willing to devote painstaking attention to detail.” The ability to move freely between the big picture and the details can be seen in many leaders. #給忙碌者的極簡管理學 —Verification and attribution note— The post’s tag identifies the source as Alan Murray’s 給忙碌者的極簡管理學 (The Wall Street Journal Essential Guide to Management). Drucker’s five tasks appear in Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. The Bennis comparison has not been checked word for word.