Leadership Vs Management
What is the difference between a leader and a manager? Are they both the same or do they have differences in the workplace?
In this blog, we will cover the following topics:
Leadership Vs Management
What is Leadership?
What is Management?
The Need for Both
Leadership Vs Management
In the world of business, the two often gets used interchangeably, with few taking the time to dissect the differences. However, on the deeper level great differences exist between the two. Managers are there for stability, whilst leaders are there to challenge, adapt and grow. It is often said managers ‘tell you what to do’, whilst leaders ‘show you what to do.’
Differences between a manager and a leader
If you’re starting a new company or running a very small company, then it is necessary to have a leader running the ship. This is as the leader will be the one setting directions, aligning people and motivating others.
As a company grows, whilst a leader should still be there, it is important to have some managers in place. This is because managers will help produce orderly results, as well as keeping things working efficiently.
What is Leadership?
One misconception of leadership is that you need to have formal power to be seen as a leader. This is not true at all! A leader can be an individual who does not hold any authority. Leadership occurs both ways, top down as well as bottom up.
Leaders are not just telling people what to do, they work alongside the people. For a leader, it is not ‘I’, but rather it is ‘we’ or ‘you’. Leaders will also make the team and the individual connected, to each other, to the goal and the overall company.
One separation between leaders and managers are that leaders are innovators. They are not afraid to stand out and break down barriers. Some notable examples include Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. When these leaders started out, they were ridiculed, but persevered and eventually succeeded.
A leader is a visionary person who has a roadmap that others will normally follow. Not only will leaders be able to have a roadmap, leaders are also great followers. In a nutshell, leadership can be described as:
The process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively, in order to achieve a unified goal
A movement and the first follower
What is Management?
Managers are normally people who are in a formal position, i.e. they were given the role of manager by the company. Managers are there to take care of where you are. They are (or should be) very efficient, but will normally be risk averse.
Managers will normally have the goal of getting things done. Managers will normally be skilled in the art of delegation. It is often wrongly stated that managers will focus solely on the administrative aspect of the work and neglect the people aspect. However, effective managers should also be able to work and collaborate with the workforce.
As we had mentioned about leaders being innovators, managers will normally follow the map and accept the status quo, with the mindset ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
What is a leader and what is a manager?
The Need for Both
Are both needed? Short answer is yes they are. One of the reasons is that whilst leaders can inspire and have wonderful ideas, they can easily get side tracked, thus leading to lack of implementation. This is where the managers come in! Managers will help make the adjustments in order for this vision to become a reality.
In every organization, be it big or small, a manager and a leader is needed. They should be viewed as complimentary to each other, rather than fighting opposite sides. Managers are needed for the consistency they provide, while leaders are needed for the adaptivity they have and the change they can provide.
However, it is only possible if both can harmonize and intertwine together!
Looking to learn more about leadership? Click below to see and download our training on Leadership: An Introduction into Leadership Styles!
