Management vs. Leadership
The comparison and differences of traits between leadership and management techniques
and styles is like comparing apples and oranges. Leadership should be an asset of
management but unfortunately not all managers have leadership qualities A manager is a
director, an overseer, someone who dictates employees. A leader is focused on organizing
and inspiring people to be entrepreneurs. The role and responsibilities of both leaders and
managers in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture has differences and
similarities, both a leader and a manager have the same goal to have a healthy organization
but the approaches are different. An example from sums up the differences between a
leader and a manager:
The leader is followed and the manager rules. A leader is someone who people naturally
follow through their own choice, whereas a manager must be obeyed. A manager may only
have obtained his position of authority through time and loyalty given to the company, not
as a result of his leadership qualities. A leader may have no organizational skills, but his
vision unites people behind him.
Managers enjoy the status quo while leaders accept change. Managers like their
environment to stay the same; they want to keep their empire untouched without anything
altering this managerial world of dictatorship and control. Leaders allow change and use it
to their advantage by taking the change and running with it and people like to follow
someone with confidence and assurance to make this change a positive objective.
Managers are inclined to take control and control situations, and leaders delegate and
include everyone as a team. Leaders initiate and implement while involving people and
managers demand and command people what to do.
A structure based organization is essential for a manager while leaders are flexible to do
what is best rather then what the procedures state. Leaders are innovators with creativity to
invent and focus on vision. Leaders concentrate on the future while managers think about
short-term goals and focus on what needs to be dealt with now with no intention of
thinking about the future. Managers are administrators of facts, figures, and statistics rather
than planning for what lies ahead. Managers are generally preoccupied with maintenance
issues and dealing with solving problems while leaders find problems.
Driven by Policy andprocedures and pays attention to titles and positions is what managers
are more concerned with and leaders develop relationships and encourage judgment and
application of guidelines. Leaders are natural mentors and see peoples strengths while
