Are You a Leader or a Manager?

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

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

Here are five standout differences between the two roles:

A leader invents or innovates while a manager organizes,

The leader of the team comes up with new ideas and kickstarts the organization’s shift or transition to a forward-thinking phase. A leader always has his or her eyes set on the horizon, developing new techniques and strategies for the organization. A leader has immense knowledge of all the current trends, advancements, and skillsets—and has a clarity of purpose and vision. By contrast, a manager is someone who generally only maintains what is already established. A manager needs to watch the bottom line while controlling employees and workflow in the organization and preventing any chaos.

Manager’s count value vs leader’s create value,

You’re probably counting value, not adding it, if you’re managing people. Only managers count value; some even reduce value by disabling those who add value.

By contrast, leaders focuses on creating value, saying: “I’d like you to handle A while I deal with B.” He or she generates value over and above that which the team creates, and is as much a value-creator as his or her followers are. Leading by example and leading by enabling people are the hallmarks of action-based leadership.

Circles of influence vs circles of power.

Just as managers have subordinates and leaders have followers, managers create circles of power while leaders create circles of influence.

The quickest way to figure out which of the two you’re doing is to count the number of people outside your reporting hierarchy who come to you for advice. The more that do, the more likely it is that you are perceived to be a leader.

Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control.

Manager relies on control, whereas a leader inspires trust. A leader is a person who pushes employees to do their best and knows how to set an appropriate pace and tempo for the rest of the group. Managers, on the other hand, are required by their job description to establish control over employees, which, in turn, helps them develop their assets to bring out their best. Thus, managers have to understand their subordinates well to do their job effectively.

Leaders ask the question “what” and “why", whereas a manager leans more towards the questions “how” and “when”.

To be able to do justice to their role as a leader, some may question and challenge authority to modify or even reverse decisions that may not have the team’s best interests in mind. Good leadership requires a great deal of good judgment, especially when it comes to the ability to stand up to senior management over a point of concern or if there is an aspect in need of improvement. If a company goes through a rough patch, a leader will be the one who will stand up and ask the question: “What did we learn from this?” Managers, however, are not required to assess and analyze failures. Their job description emphasizes asking the questions “how” and “when,” which usually helps them make sure that plans are properly executed. They tend to accept the status quo exactly the way it is and do not attempt a change.

In order for you to engage your staff in providing the best service to your customers, you must enroll them in your vision and align their perceptions and behaviors. You need to get them excited about where you are taking them while making sure they know what’s in it for them.

Leadership skills can be developed at any stage of your career. By understanding the characteristics of effective leaders and how leadership differs from management, you can develop techniques for coaching colleagues, delivering feedback, and overcoming specific organizational challenges.