Leadership vs. Management in Engineering

Summary

In this discussion, Kate Harris, CEO of Stanley Consultants, explores the key differences between management and leadership in engineering. She explains that management focuses on personal skills and facilitating tasks, while leadership emphasizes team dynamics, vision, and empowering others. Leaders talk about 'we' rather than 'I,' prioritizing team achievements over personal contributions. Harris highlights that leadership requires humility, authenticity, and continuous learning. She encourages engineers to view leadership as an evolving craft, necessary for tackling greater responsibilities as they advance in their careers.

Takeaways

• 😀 The difference between management and leadership is often misunderstood but essential in professional growth.
• 🛠️ Managers focus on their personal skills and abilities to create outcomes, often relying on technical expertise or direct oversight.
• 🤝 Leaders, in contrast, emphasize the collective power of the team, focusing on collaboration and the contributions of others.
• 👥 Leadership is characterized by a shift from 'I' to 'we,' where leaders prioritize the team's success over individual accomplishments.
• 🌱 Leadership involves setting direction, facilitating discussions, and making difficult decisions, often balancing multiple trade-offs.
• 💡 Authentic leadership requires humility, vulnerability, and a focus on serving others, rather than being self-centered.
• 📈 Leadership development is a continuous process that requires ongoing learning and refinement of skills.
• 🎓 Becoming a leader involves active and intentional effort, not just technical progression or acquiring more credentials.
• 🚀 Leaders must adapt and grow to meet new challenges as their roles expand, which often requires improving emotional intelligence (EQ) and decision-making skills.
• 🔍 Organizations should evaluate leaders not just on past technical success, but on their ability to lead teams and drive progress in the future.

Q & A

What is the key distinction between management and leadership according to Kate Harris?

Kate Harris explains that the key distinction is that managers focus on their personal skills and how they facilitate tasks, while leaders emphasize the power of the team and the contributions of others to achieve outcomes.

How does Kate Harris define the role of a manager?

Kate defines a manager as someone who uses their skills to create outcomes, typically relying on their own expertise or direction, and eventually forming teams to handle tasks as they progress in their career.

What, according to Kate Harris, defines a leader's approach?

A leader talks about the collective efforts of the team, facilitating discussions, making decisions, and focusing on engagement and communication rather than their own abilities.

What does Kate Harris mean by the 'I to we' transition in leadership?

The 'I to we' transition refers to a shift from focusing on one’s own skills and contributions (management) to focusing on the contributions of the entire team (leadership). Leaders talk about 'we' and the collective success, rather than 'I' and personal achievements.

How does Kate Harris differentiate between good leaders and those who are more self-centered?

Good leaders, according to Kate, are humble, authentic, and focused on the team’s success, whereas self-centered leaders may be more egocentric or focused on their own achievements.

What attributes does Kate Harris believe the best leaders possess?

Kate believes the best leaders are humble, vulnerable, authentic, and strong decision-makers who are not afraid to get out in front of people, but also focus on team collaboration and outcomes rather than personal credit.

How does Kate Harris suggest engineers approach leadership development?

Kate suggests that engineers should treat leadership development as an ongoing process, similar to technical skill development, by going back to school, reading, and continuously learning to become better leaders.

Why does Kate Harris emphasize the need for leaders to develop both EQ and IQ?

Kate emphasizes the need for both EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and IQ because leadership requires understanding and managing people (EQ) as well as making informed, smart decisions (IQ) to serve others effectively.

How does Kate Harris challenge traditional views on technical roles and leadership?

Kate challenges the idea that technical expertise alone is sufficient for leadership roles. She argues that being promoted to higher roles based on past technical performance can be misleading, and true leadership requires focusing on developing people and broader organizational responsibilities.

What advice does Kate Harris give to individuals transitioning from management to leadership roles?

Kate advises that individuals transitioning from management to leadership roles should focus on shifting their mindset from personal skillset and control to team empowerment, collaboration, and supporting the collective success of the organization.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Understanding the Difference Between Management and Leadership

The host opens the discussion by addressing a common question from engineering professionals about the difference between management and leadership. Kate Harris, CEO and President of Stanley Consultants, shares her perspective based on decades of experience. She believes that management focuses on personal skills and direct outcomes, while leadership is about facilitating the success of a team. Managers tend to talk about 'I' and their own contributions, whereas leaders focus on 'we,' emphasizing team success, collaboration, and decision-making for the collective good.

05:01

🎯 Leadership as an Art and Lifelong Learning Process

Kate discusses leadership as a craft that requires continuous development. She emphasizes that even though individuals often seek technical qualifications like licenses and credentials, leadership is a skill that also needs constant improvement. Leadership roles come with increasing responsibilities, requiring a combination of emotional intelligence (EQ) and intellectual ability (IQ). She encourages leaders to invest in their development by reading, attending courses, and being intentional about refining their leadership skills, regardless of their position.

Keywords

💡Management

Management refers to the ability to organize, direct, and control resources to achieve specific objectives. In the video, Kate Harris differentiates management as focusing on personal skills and outputs, such as creating teams and facilitating tasks. Managers are often more hands-on with their expertise and are responsible for managing processes and outcomes, which contrasts with leadership.

💡Leadership

Leadership is defined as the ability to guide, inspire, and influence a group towards achieving a common goal. Kate explains that leadership is about the power of the team, collaboration, and decision-making, focusing less on personal skills and more on collective outcomes. Leaders set direction and foster communication among teams, highlighting the transition from 'I' to 'we'.

💡Teamwork

Teamwork in this context emphasizes collaboration and the collective effort of a group to achieve a common goal. Kate points out that leaders focus on the strengths of the team and how everyone contributes, whereas managers might focus more on individual skill sets. Leadership is about bringing people together and harnessing the power of the team.

💡Skills

Skills refer to the abilities or expertise an individual brings to their role, which in management, is often personal. Managers rely on their own technical skills to produce results. In contrast, leaders rely on interpersonal and decision-making skills to guide the team, shifting the focus from individual skills to collective team capabilities.

💡Decision-making

Decision-making is a critical leadership function, where leaders are tasked with making difficult trade-offs and guiding the team. Kate highlights that leaders, unlike managers, are often making broader, strategic decisions that impact the entire organization, rather than just focusing on task-based outcomes.

💡Humility

Humility is described as a key trait of successful leaders. Kate emphasizes that great leaders are humble and authentic, meaning they focus on the success of the team rather than their own personal achievements. This contrasts with self-serving or egocentric behavior, which is often counterproductive to effective leadership.

💡Progression

Progression refers to the career development path from technical roles to management and eventually to leadership. In the video, the discussion highlights how individuals progress by shifting their focus from technical skills to team leadership. The natural progression in one’s career requires transitioning from managing tasks to leading people.

💡Responsibility

Responsibility in leadership means being accountable not just for one’s actions, but for the success and well-being of the team. Leaders are tasked with ensuring the team thrives and that organizational goals are met. Kate stresses that leadership is a role and responsibility that requires constant improvement and learning.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity in leadership involves being genuine, transparent, and true to one’s values. Kate notes that the best leaders are authentic, meaning they are honest about their intentions and lead with integrity. Authenticity fosters trust within teams and allows leaders to connect more deeply with their colleagues.

💡Communication

Communication is essential in both management and leadership, but in leadership, it goes beyond directing tasks. Leaders must facilitate dialogue, ensure everyone is heard, and align the team’s efforts with the organization's goals. Kate highlights that great leaders excel in communication, especially in engaging the team and ensuring collective input.

Highlights

Management focuses on personal skills and creating outcomes, while leadership is about facilitating teams and empowering others.

Managers talk about their own skills and contributions, while leaders talk about the contributions and power of the team.

A key difference between leadership and management is the shift from focusing on 'I' to focusing on 'we'.

Leaders make tough decisions, set direction and pace, and focus on teamwork, communication, and engagement.

Authenticity, humility, and vulnerability are key traits of effective leaders.

Leaders are not egocentric or self-serving; instead, they focus on empowering others and achieving collective goals.

Leadership is a craft that requires constant learning, development, and improvement over time.

Effective leadership is both an art and a skill that must be honed through practice and study.

Kate emphasizes that leadership is about serving others, not relying on personal skills or command.

Becoming a great leader involves balancing both emotional intelligence (EQ) and intellectual capability (IQ).

Leadership is a long-term commitment that requires ongoing personal growth and self-improvement.

Engineers often focus on technical expertise and credentials but rarely emphasize leadership development.

As responsibilities grow, leaders face bigger challenges that require continuous learning and adaptation.

In organizations, leaders should be promoted based on their leadership abilities, not just their technical expertise.

Leaders with specialized responsibilities should focus on developing others and elevating them in their career paths.

Transcripts

what's the difference between management

and leadership in engineering I get this

question all the time from engineering

professionals but today we're lucky to

have with me Kate Harris president CEO

and chair of Stanley Consultants Kate

has a lot of experience in our industry

and she's worked with a lot of managers

and leaders and Kate can you please help

our listeners help the engineers out

there thinking about the difference

between these two what is the difference

in your opinion of management versus

leadership

[Applause]

[Music]

that's just a great question so I

remember my first job when I left school

was at 17 was a management trainee and I

remember talking to my father about this

and having these arguments and I said

it's very clear they're different I'm

saying no they're not the same they're

just interchangeable words they're not

so and so you know 40 years later

um I still don't think they're the same

and so um here's how I would Define it

from a gut check perspective and I work

with a lot of people I recruit a lot of

people I interview a lot of people I

develop teams with a lot of people and

that's been my one of my skills

throughout my career and I am looking

for how people talk and how people

behave and so when I'm talking to a

person that talks about what they can do

um either the skills they bring or you

know the facilitation approaches that

they make or you know how how they

create these teams then I'm talking to a

manager I'm talking to somebody that

uses their skills personally to be able

to create an outcome okay whether in

your when you're more Junior and you're

doing some work and your your delivery

is an output that you have to do the

technical or client service and you're

reliant on you

you know you're turning from an expert

into a manager when you create teams

around you okay when we see leaders who

talk about they and talk about this

issue around what others are doing

then we're starting to see leaders okay

when we're starting to to see people

talk about the power of the team how

people contribute you know the skills

that they bring to the party we know

that leaders are you know facilitating

discussion they're leading and you know

Direction setting and Pace setting we

know all those things are leadership

skills and requirements we know they're

making marginal decisions that you know

in terms of really difficult trade-offs

but they're not talking about themselves

they're talking about the power of the

team they're talking about the power of

the company they're talking about the

power of communication and engagement

triangulation who do we talk to how does

this work what are we bringing to the

table so that that job of that leaders

is not now reliant on their personal

skill set or their chain of command or

how they direct traffic or direct teams

it's around you know bringing together

great people

to achieve fantastic outcomes so for me

very simple it's an eye to we a

situation and I can spot you know having

done this now for 40 years in management

I can spot pretty quickly who we're

talking to because while we're saying it

we also have to be authentic and so you

know some tricks around you know do we

really believe that

um or not or are we kind of more insular

more sort of egocentric or self-serving

the best leaders I know are humble

vulnerable or authentic they are

powerful decision makers they're not

scared to get out in front of people but

really it's not about them any longer

it's about how to engage the the

constituents that they serve and so you

know I to we would be the number one one

thing that I would look for combined

with that sort of leadership philosophy

um

um around sort of

um humility so that leadership versus

kind of egocentricity

now that's awesome man I think what's

great about that is not only is it

something that you can catch yourself on

and start to notice about yourself as

you're trying to maybe you want to make

that transition from a manager to a

leader but I think to Kate's point if

you're tasked with developing leaders in

your organization which Kate is doing on

a daily basis as she said you can start

to understand where that person is on

the kind of manager to leadership

progression just based on the way

they're talking based on their actions

and having that ability to notice that

helps you to understand the different

needs of the different managers and

leaders in your organization and then

you can decide on how to you know how to

equip them better but I think little

things like that Kate where you can

recognize that gives you a lot more

power to be able to build more leaders

in your organization well look there's

two pieces one is the natural

progression of you and your skill set

and what you desire for yourself and

your career because you own that right

and and then there's a piece around you

know leadership being both an art and

the skill often I hear people say you

know I train to be an architect an

engineer you know a business person

actually I spend every day training to

be a leader and I take that very

seriously

um I go back to school often I read

articles often because I'm trying to

become the best leader that I can be I'm

not imitating or replicating anybody

else but I am being very thoughtful

around you know the art and skill and

develop of being a leader

um in whatever organization or whatever

company you're in so yes I mean these

these pieces around working hard at this

you know even the most fantastic leaders

that I meet we're working hard at that

stuff you know it's important it is a

lifelong process and you have to be

committed to it because it it's not an

easy uh career path and uh you need a

lot of you know what we would call EQ

and IQ in order to be able to to

progress and to serve others as well

through leadership yeah I love that

because you hear all the time in our

industry I want to get the license I

want to get the next credential I want

to be become a better expert but you

very rarely hear people say you know I

want to become that next level leader I

got to go back to school or learn

something else about leadership and I

think you need to think about leadership

that way because leadership is a role

it's a responsibility and it's a craft

that you can improve you gotta you know

you gotta develop your craft as a leader

and the more you grow the bigger

leadership challenges that you're going

to deal with and which means you need to

get better right you can't just say hey

I'm CEO so now I'm good to go no now

you're probably got to get even better

because now you have you bigger

challenges that you have to deal with so

I mean I mean look look I mean I think

we catch ourselves in our organization

in our industry progressing technically

as you said what we've started to do is

say at a certain level it is a

leadership role where they focus on

something like a technical position

rather than saying it's a technical role

and you're also a leader we're saying

now we're it's not what this is about

anymore

um so if you are you know the chief

engineer of our company then you're in a

leadership role with a focus on

engineering and bringing others up

through that career path if you are the

CEO you are a leader who's focused on

you know leading and running the

operations of our organization and so

we're starting to challenge ourselves a

little bit around you know how can we be

saying these things when we're

progressing people into positions that

are based on how good they were at the

last job not on the next job and not

only that but the titling and role of

responsibility is also focused on the

functional aspects of a leadership role

and or simply challenging ourselves I

think that's probably wrong you know

we're Leaders with special

responsibilities so um you know we have

to catch ourselves all the time around

those things

well Kate Harris president CEO and chair

of Stanley Consultants thanks so much

for talking a little bit about

management versus leadership which is

always talked about in the industry but

you brought some great clarity to it for

me and I'm sure for our viewers as well

thanks so much Kate thank you you're

very welcome thanks Charlie man that was

awesome I mean I do get that question

from Engineers all the time and I really

love the way that Kate explained it

because by thinking about the language

that people use their perspective you're

able to gauge whether or not someone's

kind of in that management stage of

their career in that leadership phase or

somewhere in the middle and you can kind

of help them and guide them which is

very very powerful please consider

subscribing to our channel here we're

constantly putting out videos like this

to help Engineers become successful

leaders in their firms and in the

industry and I'll see you next week

[Applause]

thank you

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