Managers or Innovators

From Poul Anderson's short story "Esau":

A good manager is a very high-powered man, and we need a lot of him. But at bottom, he is a routineer; his aim is to make things go smoothly. No, for the wild places you need an innovator in charge, a man what likes to take risks, a heterodoxy if she is female -- somebody what can meet wholly new problems in unholy new ways -- you see?

Poul Anderson is a writer, so he's supposed to use language in really interesting ways - and, of course, to have really interesting ideas.  Andy Stanley has talked about Managers and Leaders like this, "Managers manage to sameness, leaders lead to change"*  From another blog** I found that Stephen R. Covey says, "Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out." Thomas J. Peters says, "Management is about arranging and telling."


So - I know a lot of managers of churches.  You know, keeping the programs going, doing the same stuff that's been done forever, not stepping on any toes, not going in any new directions...  The church is DYING for leaders...


Who are you?  A leader or a manager?






* I remember him saying this at Catalyst last year, and I found someone who blogged it last year, here - it's on the internet, it must be true...
** Squidoo - I'll let somebody else do the heavy lifting, this is just a blog after all...