Zaleznik, Leaders and Managers, The Managerial Mystique

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Abraham Zaleznik, The Managerial Mystique. Harper and Row, 1989.

digital download on Amazon. It was later expanded and included the book, The Managerial Mystique, which is pictured here. The summary is of the original essay.

Referenced in: Leader-Manager Continuum

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

Leaders and Managers is a now famous article from the 1970s that is credited with beginning the understanding of the differences between leaders and managers, and the effect each currency of influence has on those impacted. The book, The Managerial Mystique, expands on the article. Here Zaleznik argues that managers are somewhat impersonal and passive (with regard to other people) in pursuit of goals. They gain their self-worth and identity by maintaining ongoing systems and organizations, and tend to compromise, conserve, regulate, and control toward that end. Leaders are the opposite. They are personal and active toward goals. Their self-worth is based on changing and improving systems and organizations, which leads them to innovate, risk, and motivate.

Most authors today believe Zaleznik exaggerated the differences and drew too sharp a dichotomy. Nevertheless, the distinctions he made have become the standard in leadership literature. Perhaps the most popular refinements of these distinctions are those expressed by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, in Leaders and On Becoming a Leader, as well as John Kotter’s Leading Change (note his distinction of “leading” change not “managing” change). 

About the Author

Abraham Zaleznik is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He especially noted for specialized research and teaching in the psychodynamics of leadership and group psychology. During his career at the Harvard Business School, he authored or co-authored 14 books and numerous articles. His Harvard Business Review article entitled , “Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?” received the McKinsey award for the best Harvard Business Review article in 1977 and was republished as a classic in 1992. Earlier and later articles received the same recognition. He published articles in academic journals such as Behavioral Science and Psychiatry along with articles in business journals such as the Harvard Business Review.


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