What Is The Difference Between Leaders And Managers?

What is the difference between Leadership and Management?

Leadership is the art of influencing, guiding, coaching and mentoring people to achieve a goal. Management, on the other hand, is the process of controlling things. We manage programs, contracts, projects, processes, and budgets.

When you get a position of leadership, you may be at a loss on your next move. You will want to know if you are called to be a leader or a manager. Positions of leadership may call for both leadership and management.

We have done detailed research and below is the difference between a manager and a leader. We hope this will be of great help in your leadership growth.

Leaders are Visionaries, Managers are Excecutors.

Leaders see the future and what it ought to look like. They invest their time to explain and sell the vision to their people. They set long-term goals after assessing the pros and cons of not pursuing the vision.

Managers implement, monitor, and evaluate the vision and goals of the leader. For example, a leader will decide to plant 100 apple trees so that in three years, the company will not buy apples for the staff hence cutting on costs. The manager will ensure the trees are planted and in three years we have apples for the staff.

Leaders operate on a circle of influence while managers operate on a circle of power.

The art of leadership is all about influencing people. It involves creating relationships, trust, and understanding people. It is about knowing what other like and how they operate. Leaders explain the benefits of pursuing a goal. They give others the liberty to choose. When leading within the circle of influence, people outside your hierarchy come to you for advice.

Managers are executioners, as earlier explained. They follow the book and ensure things get done and when they are supposed to. In short, they enforce the law. People answer to them because they have to and not because they are willing to. They use the authority of their position to get things done.

Managers get their influence from the title they hold. If the position goes, so does their influence.

Leaders guide people, Managers Control Things

Leaders guide their teams to achieve goals. They ask questions to compel their followers to develop skills to stand and act on their own. Leaders believe in their people and their potential to deliver. Their power lies in empowering people and elevating their leadership skills.

Managers control and track the work the team is handling. This could be a project, a budget, a service, or a process that needs to be directed or overseen. As a result, managers will assign tasks to their subordinates, tell them what to do, and track the progress.

Leaders add Value, Managers Count value

Remember that leaders are visionaries. They see the future. They actively look for opportunities to better things for their people and society. They empower others with the right skill and resources to achieve a goal. They change systems to make things easy to handle or operate.

Leaders are always adding value to the people, systems, and society.

Managers count value. They want to know how much has been done today. They want to see the reports, the results. It is easy for a manager to push their team to exhaustion to achieve goals.

There is a risk for managers to subtract value as they chase for results.

Leaders Inspire People, Managers Drive Their Success

A leader inspires and motivates people to move to action. The good news is that people who are inspired put more energy into their work willingly. They work overtime and give more to achieve a goal.

A manager drives people to do what is on paper. Remember that managers control things like budgets, projects, and processes. To ensure this is met, they push others or their subordinates to achieve the goal. Under management, people do not work willingly. They are obligated to perform.

Leaders look into the future, managers focus on the present.

Leaders are generational thinkers. They carry the weight of the future generations on their shoulders. They come up with ways to leave a place, family, or society better than they found it for the next person to build on. The now is crucial to them because it builds a better future.

Managers focus on the present and on how to achieve short-term goals. Rarely do managers associate the short-term goals with the future consequences. Driving people to deliver may have long-term side effects on them and the desired goals. A leader will put people first, the objectives second.

Leaders shape the culture, Managers Endorse it.

Leaders believe in creating change to make things better. As a result, they innovate and influence others to embrace the change. They are consistently shaping the culture in a company, their homes, and societies.

Managers endorse the changes and the culture that leaders create. They stick with the systems and with what works. They may refine the processes but rarely bring change.

Leaders Build Relationships, Managers believe in systems and processes.

Leaders understand the importance of creating relationships with people to drive their agenda. They focus on building people and empower them. They go for coalitions, trust, and partnerships. They also believe in delivering on their promises.

Managers believe in creating systems and refining processes to achieve goals.

The Difference Between a Manager And a Leader (Table)

Leaders	Managers
Visionaries	Executioners
Add Value	Count Value
Lead and Guide People	Manage Work
Inspire People	Drive Their Success
Look Into The Future	Focus On The Present
Shape The Culture	Endorse The Culture
Operate In The Circle Of Influence	Operate In The Circle Of Power
Build Relationships	Build Processes and systems

Conclusion

Leaders focus more on people and building relationships. Goals are set to bring people together, build trust, create alliances, and empower them. They believe in the ability of others to come up with solutions and perform.

Managers control processes and systems to achieve goals that leaders set.

Management does not work well with people. When you try to manage people, you limit their power to make choices and think critically. In essence, you end up losing the skills and the experience they have.

Having a position of leadership does not necessarily make you a leader. In your capacity, you need to establish what best suits you, a manager, leader, or both. Remember, neither of them is superior to the other. But, if you are looking into long terms goals and influencing people, go for leadership.