Understanding the Differences: Leadership vs. Management

by | Oct 29, 2019 | Leadership

Is a good manager automatically a good leader? What is the difference between leadership and management?

The main difference between leaders and managers is that leaders have people follow them while managers have people who work for them.

A successful business needs both strong leaders and strong managers to get their team on board and willing to work hard towards success. Leadership is about getting 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 the day-to-day things are happening as they should.

Some of the key characteristics of a strong leader are:

  • Honesty & Integrity: A critical component to get your subordinates to believe you and buy in to the mission
  • Strategic Vision: Engaging your team in the future vision
  • Inspiration: Inspire your team to be all they can by making sure they understand their role in the bigger picture
  • Ability to Challenge: A fearlessness to challenge the status quo and practice disruptive process thinking
  • Communication Skills: Be clear about where you are and what is ahead. Share any roadblocks you deem may lie ahead.

Some of the key characteristics of a strong manager are:

  • Ability to Execute a Vision: Breaking the overall vision down into detailed steps to be followed by the team
  • Ability to Direct: Watching over the day-to-day work efforts, review resources needed and anticipate needs along the way
  • Process Implementation: Establish work rules, processes, standards and operating procedures
  • Focus on the strengths of each individual: Value your employees, their needs, listen to them and involve them

In order to create a culture of trust and engagement it is essential to align the entire team with the same mission and vision. This includes their perceptions and their behaviors. You need to get them excited about the direction of the company while making sure they know what’s in it for them. A strong organization needs good managers and good leaders who work together.