An introduction to the difference between leadership and management

Companies need both good managers and good leaders to grow the business. 

What is a leader?

A leader is someone with vision. They see a clear path to results, and motivate and inspire others to do the same. A leader ensures their team has the right tools to achieve company goals. Influential leaders instill confidence in their team’s creativity and ability to work collaboratively toward long-term shared goals.

What is a manager?

A manager is responsible for overseeing the success of a team or department. Their primary focus is on achieving organizational goals. Managers are accountable for their employees’ coordinating efforts and creating strategies to accomplish directives. They can also obtain and allocate any resources their team requires. Managers usually have total control over their workforce as they hire and fire, promote and demote, and reprimand or reward their employees according to behaviour and performance. 

What is the leader’s role?

The leader’s role is to inspire, motivate, coach, and guide others on their team. They guide colleagues through professional development, coach them in challenging times, and lead by example while inspiring them with company culture that’s inclusive and collaborative for all.

What is the manager’s role?

The manager’s role is to organize, plan, staff, and control their team, department, or working environment to achieve company targets. First, they devise a plan that meets the organizational goals. Then they organize it into smaller pieces (daily targets) to more efficiently manage and allocate the staff and resources required.

What are the differences between management and leadership?

Managers use control and their job title to get things done, while leaders inspire and motivate using their actions. Here are some key differences between leadership and management:

1. Tunnel vision versus wide-view and long-range vision

Managers only look long-range when building strategies and processes to get them through daily tasks. Then, once they have a plan in place, they manage their staff with schedules, procedures, budgets, targets, and structure while working with tunnel vision that focuses on completing daily goals, which will eventually meet the objectives set by leaders.

Leaders, on the other hand, always wear their wide-view and long-range lens. They’re constantly re-examining the company’s current position, where it needs to go, and how they and their team can get there. Then, through creativity and empowering their team to think outside the box, leaders inspire innovation and improved methods for achieving goals. 

2.  The answer is in the question

A manager asks when and how, while a leader asks why and what. Managers are interested in the tactical process of how their team will accomplish and complete goals in the allotted time. Their role is to ensure their staff completes company duties safely, correctly, and to their best ability, and they usually don’t look at changing the process. 

A leader, however, is never satisfied with repeating the same processes to get the same results. They’re always looking to improve, to be more efficient, and have higher collaboration. Leaders challenge authority on strategies that aren’t in the organization’s best interests and ask hard questions when things go wrong. 

3. Innovative ideas become reality

A manager’s title gives them the power to take new ideas from their staff and bring them to life by allocating resources, working out a budget and strategy, and freeing up staff to dedicate time to the new project. In addition, managers see first-hand if the new idea is working since they’re the first to approve work and review documents—they’ll immediately know if targets are hit or missed.

Leaders focus on the bigger picture and look for new ways to achieve and exceed company goals. When change occurs, leaders rally their teams, encourage passion and excitement about the new direction, and help them understand the value of the change.

Qualities of a good leader

Influential leaders inspire, motivate, coach, and lead by example with qualities that include:

• Honesty and respect: Trust and respect are a two-way street. Good leaders earn them by trusting and respecting their team and being honest and direct with constructive feedback.
• Visionary: Leaders always contemplate where the company is, the direction it needs to go in, and how to get there. Good leaders share their vision with their team and unite them collectively to achieve their goals.
  
• Motivation and inspiration: Leaders who share their energy and enthusiasm inspire and motivate their team to accomplish more by leading by example.
• Creativity: Good leaders are creative and idealistic, and they nurture and support the same qualities in their team.
• Communication: Leaders continuously communicate their vision, goals, ideas, feedback, concerns, and progress with their team.
• Dare to challenge: Leaders aren’t afraid to challenge authority if something negatively affects the company or their team. They only have the company’s and their team’s best interests at heart.
• Solving problems: A leader’s ability to solve problems at every level is a key quality. With their creativity, they find ways around obstacles that block or interfere with progress and enthusiastically embrace change.
• Risk-taking: Leaders always drive positive change and develop innovative ways to improve efficiencies and costs. They know when to take risks and when they should encourage their team to do the same.
• Mentoring: Good leaders want to see their teams grow and develop to their full potential. Leading by example, coaching one-on-one, and guiding team members through complex tasks allow leaders to enhance their team’s skills.

Qualities of a good manager

Good managers are the support system of any company. They supply the tools, work processes, timelines, and workforce to achieve organizational goals, using qualities like:

• Strategist: Managers are excellent strategists. They can take a leader’s vision and break it into manageable segments that are easy to execute, thus creating a strategic plan for their staff to follow.
• Control: Managers develop planning and organizational skills and have complete control over operating procedures, work processes, company standards, deadlines, equipment, and other resources their team uses.
• People-focused: For managers to complete their responsibilities, they need their staff to carry out their directives. Therefore, good managers care for their team by listening to their feedback, accommodating reasonable requests, communicating clear instructions, and involving them in essential decisions.
• Delegator: Managers know their staff and individual capabilities. They designate the best person for each job to ensure competency.
• Mentoring: Great managers support their employees’ career advancement. Managers help their team identify and hone individual skill sets, determine where they want to be in five or ten years, and offer pertinent advice.
• Communication: Managers offer constructive feedback on performance to help identify growth opportunities and can turn struggles into strengths with coaching and guidance.
• Team building: Great managers know the value of a collaborative team versus individualized efforts. The more team members get to know one another, the more comfortable they feel working together. Therefore, managers make team building part of the company culture to get the best possible results.

Similarities and overlap

Managers and leaders may approach situations differently to accomplish their visions. Still, they’re working toward the same goal—they want what’s best for their company and team. With this comes some overlap in their working styles. Managers and leaders both: 

• Value communication: Good managers and leaders practise active listening, so their team feels heard and their needs are understood. During a one-on-one or group meeting, two-way communication ensures they hear all parties’ valuable feedback, allowing time to process and act on it.
• Relate work to organizational goals: Managers and leaders must clarify company objectives to the team by explaining how they relate to their role and how they can contribute to reaching those goals. This understanding allows employees to prioritize their time and tasks to generate the best results.
• Invest in their team’s development: Managers and leaders must support their employees. By working to coach, mentor, inspire, and motivate team members, management and leadership can achieve company targets together.