Leaders and Managers

By Joseph S. Nye (This article was received from Project Syndicate, an international not-for-profit association of newspapers dedicated to hosting a global debate on the key issues shaping our world.)

CAMBRIDGE – For the first time in decades, a United States senator will become the next American president as all three of the remaining candidates – Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain – are members of the Senate. While legislators have many leadership skills, their management ability is usually unproven. Senators manage a roughly 100-member staff, and a campaign staff of several hundreds. But can they manage an executive branch employing millions?
Contemporary management theory tends to distinguish between leadership and management, and places greater emphasis on leaders.