One of the most interesting elements of being a consultant is observing the differences (and similarities) between how different companies handle a particular challenge. To get this visibility, you don’t always have to work directly with a company – often this visibility comes from networking and business development discussions about “what is working”, and “what is not” with colleagues, or more formal forums like a “Partner Advisory Council (PAC).

One area that I find is challenging for many companies in the tech industry is the dynamic of “Leadership vs. Management”. For both small and large tech companies, leadership and management are required, but the needs vary quite dramatically and I’ve often seen companies that are short one or both of these types of DNA. Table 1 below shows accepted definitions of these terms. (more…)