Key differences between Leadership and Management

• Introduction
• Who is a leader?
• What is leadership?
• Who is a Manager?
• What is Management?
• Are all Managers good leaders?
• Differences between Leadership and Management
• Differences between leader and Manager
• What are the 6 traits of a good leader?
• 6 Traits of a good manager

Introduction

The major difference between leaders and managers is that leaders have individuals who follow them while managers have individuals who work for them. A successful entrepreneur needs to be both – a strong leader as well as a manager to get their team onboard and to help them set foot on their vision of success.

Leadership is about encouraging people to understand and believe in your vision and to work with you to achieve your goals while managing is more about administering and making sure that day-to-day goals are being achieved.

Who is a leader?

A leader is anyone who leads a team in developing their skills to achieve a given goal. He/she leads by example and is not shy or reluctant to put in the hours or dig deep into the dirt to help the team achieve any given goal for the team or for an organisation.

What is leadership?

Leadership is an act of inspiring and leading a given group of people or an organisation towards achieving a common goal.  

Who is a Manager?

A Manager is an employee in an organisation whose job role is to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of projects, processes, employees, and organisations, with the help of management functions such as planning, organising, leading, and controlling.

What is Management?

Management is an act of organising a set of processes and systems designed to help functions like staffing, organizing, problem-solving, and budgeting in achieving any given organisational results.

Are all Managers good leaders?

Unfortunately, not all managers are good leaders, however on the other hand, all leaders can be good managers. A leader is more process oriented, while a manager is more task oriented.  

 Differences between Leadership and Management

Leadership	Management
Formulated on Principles and Guidelines	Formulated on Policies and Procedures
Strategy used is Proactive	Strategy used is Reactive
Leadership is based on influence	Management is based on rule
Focuses on inspiring change	Focuses on establishing stability
Emphasis on Inspiring people	Emphasis on managing people
Leadership foresights the future	Management short sights the present

Differences between leader and Manager

Leader	Manager
Helps find direction	Shows direction
Inspires the growth of more leaders	Manages subordinates
Is Inspirational	Is authoritative
Works alongside to inspire change	Shows how to react to changes
Inspires more to become powerful	Exercises Power

What are the 6 traits of a good leader?

·   Communication

·   Empathy

·   Accountability

·   Vision

·   Integrity

·   Humility

Communication

Some of us may be auditory learners, while some of us may be visual, verbal, logical and mathematical, or physical learners. A good leader keeps all these aspects in mind while he or she communicates to make sure whatever is said is understood by every member of the team.

Empathy

Empathy helps in building trust, confidence and improving engagement among team members. A good leader always knows the importance of empathy while leading his workforce.

Accountability

As rightly said by Arnold Glasow, “A good leader takes little more than his share of the blame and little less than his share of the credit.” A good leader always stands by his team and does everything and anything needed on course to achieving their personal and organisational goals. He or she never shies away from giving their teammate a compliment or giving them points of suggestions when there comes a need.

Vision

A team’s vision only goes as far as the vision of a leader. A good leader always keeps his/her eyes on the goal at hand instead of narrowing down on a single way to achieve it. A good leader always knows what the team is capable of and never doubts any steps taken by the team to achieve a given goal. He or she is always ready to actively contribute to the success of the team, while on route to achieving a given vision.

Integrity

As a leader, you can never expect your team to be honest if you yourself lack integrity. A good leader knows the importance of integrity in the daily workflow and upholds it to be a core value in all team building activities. He or she knows there is nothing wrong in apologizing to the team when they commit a mistake. A leader is always excited and ready to learn something new from his or her team. As rightly said by CS Lewis “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”

Humility

Humility is a skill every leader should possess while leading a team. A humble leader is always known to be more relatable and understanding by his/her team. A good leader knows he/she will never attain anything without the team, and as a team, it is always important to work for the growth of the team and not always to attain personal goals. Believing your team and letting them know you are right behind them when they need you is one of the best things you can do for your team.

A good leader in addition to all these points knows he is also an active team member first and then only a leader. He or she knows what it took him or her to become a good leader and always contributes more than expected to the success of his/ her team.

6 Traits of a good manager

·   Recognises employee success

·   Good team player

·   Provides active feedback

·   Mentor

·   Direct and empathetic

·   Set attainable goals

Recognises Employee Success

A good manager always knows when to show his appreciation to his team members, he or she doesn’t just show them support only by approving yearly appraisals, but actively follows every step and appreciates the efforts and results put into the end result achieved in any task given to his team.

Good team player

A good manager always inspires an aura of trust, respect, and positivity among his team. He or she always makes sure the team is very inspired and makes it a point to make sure every team member feels empowered. Remember, there is no I in the team.

Provides active feedback

Everyone makes mistakes, no one is either born flawless or perfect. A good manager understands this and gives his team members all the freedom they need to grow. He/she assists them with active feedback to ensure they focus on the process more so on the end goal.

Mentor  

A good manager always makes sure he or she creates a learning environment among him/her and their team members. He/she is always available to their team members in their hour of need. May it be just a piece of advice or a solution to a problem, a good manager always opens his eyes and ears to all the issues faced by his team.

Direct and empathetic

They don’t wait for issues to arise. Instead, they actively communicate with their team and keep them aware of their growth and downfall in terms of their performance on a regular basis. They are all ears to any issues faced by their team and always let them know the worth they bring to the team.

Set attainable goals

A good leader always knows what his team is capable of and the skillsets to use to achieve a given result. Hence at no given point in time, he or she undersells or oversells his employees in terms of goals. He /she only sets attainable goals for his/her team and thereafter gives them points of feedback to improve if there is any room for improvement.

The list certainly doesn’t end here, however, these points, when read and understood well, will help any individual in becoming good leaders and managers and seamlessly understand the key differences between leadership and management.

A good leader and a good manager always believe in constant improvement in terms of their skill sets and leadership styles. The best way to do so is by actively signing up for professional courses designed and developed by industry experts.