John W. Gardner

The Tasks of Leadership.

Examination of the tasks performed by leaders gets to the heart of some of the most interesting questions concerning leadership. I shall deal with nine tasks that seem to be the most significant functions of leadership, but I encourage readers to add to the list. Leadership activities that are implicit in all the tasks (e.g., communicating, relating effectively with people are not dealt with separately.

Leaders and Managers

Many writers on leadership are at considerable pains to distinguish between leaders and managers. In the process leaders generally end up looking like a cross between Napoleon and the Pied Piper, and managers like unimaginative clods. This troubles me. I once heard it said of a man &dquo;He’s an utterly first-class manager but there isn’t a trace of the leader in him.&dquo; I am still looking for that man, and I am beginning to believe that he doesn’t exist. Every time I encounter an utterly first-class manager he turns out to have quite a lot of the leader in him.