Drawing the Lines Between Roles

Following the dogma of management theories is like worshiping multiple gods.

Like a religion, those who are well indoctrinated in PMI (PMBoK and PMP) tend to worship the decentralized decision making of Fayol's disciplined management philosophy as opposed to centralized decision making of Weber's bureaucratic management philosophy.

In Fayol's philosophy, decisions are made where the action occurs. In this philosophy there clear lines drawn between roles and levels. For example, there are three control roles -- 1) manager or administrator, 2) supervisor and 3) leader. While all three roles may be played by the same actor, there is a distinct focus for each. Each of these roles may have a hierarchy of levels.

Management is about the Control of Resources. Management has to do with influencing individual and collective performance through the use of the organizations assets. Manager is a legal agent of an organization, which means they have the legal right to make decisions regarding the interests of the organization. Processes of management include planning, organizing, directing, cooperating and controlling the flow of work.

Supervision is about the Control of Competency. Supervision has to do with influencing individual and collective human action in organizations work. The Supervisor is a customary agent of a practice or discipline, which means they have the customary right to make decisions regarding the interests of the practice or discipline. This traditionally means that a supervisor is any individual qualified to judge the work of another. Like the practice of carpentry, the act of management is a professional practice, therefore individual managers should also have supervisors. Since a journey level electrician would not be qualified to judge the work of an apprentice carpenter, a senior project manager would not be qualified to judge the work of a junior operations manager.

Leadership is about the Control of Behavior. Leadership has to do with influencing individual and collective behavior to reach goals and objectives. Leader is a customary agent of a group of individuals, which means they have the customary right to make decisions regarding the interests of the group of people. By definition, leaders represent the collective trust and interests of a group of individuals. This traditionally means individuals have agreed to follow the advice or decisions of the leader.

In Weber's philosophy, decisions are made by a small collective body and passed down the chain of command to be executed. Though removed from the action, they have concentrated information into a loyal power bloc. Decisions are made by consensus. Titles of manager, supervisor or leader are without decision making authority and are functional as messengers only. Thus the roles are often merged into one.