Managers vs. Leaders: Which are you?
ByWhat’s the difference between management and leadership? Although these terms are thrown around interchangeably, there are distinct differences that separate the two in terms of personality, work style, worldviews, etc. Understanding the differences will better help you gain insight into the attributes that contribute to being more of a manager than a leaders, or visa versa.
Management is defined as the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. With that, managers most often have subordinates and have formal authority. Leadership on the other hand, is defined as the act of leading a group of people or an organization. Leaders do not have subordinates – they have followers.
I recently (yesterday) started a new school semester where I am taking a class entitled Organizational Leadership. In our first class we discussed our work experiences and more specifically, management and leadership experiences. We went around the room discussing the differences between managers and leaders and our horror or fairytale experiences with each.
As we were going around the room I began to notice a partner among my classmates’ experiences. Managers seemed to be classified into a more goal oriented/results focused category whereas leaders were seen as more personable and not necessarily someone with authority in the organization. Here is a short list of the attributes or characteristics that my class came up with to define a manager versus a leader.
To our readers: Try making a list of your own. Do your characteristics mirror those listed below?
|
Management |
Leadership |
| Seeks order and stability | Seeks adaptive and constructive change |
| Works to accomplish goals/tasks | Influences others |
| Wants to master routines | Creates vision for change |
| Has low emotional involvement | Is emotionally active and involved |
| Delegates | Empowers |
| Is an assigned “leader” | Earns the leadership role |
| Is essential if an organization is to prosper | Is essential is an organization is to prospec |
As you can see, being a manager is different from being a leader. Although there are differences, it is important to keep in mind that there are strengths and weaknesses in both. According to an online article from Fox News (Managers vs. Leaders: Are they all that different?), “Managers are very good at maintaining the status quo and adding stability and order to our culture. However, they may not be as good at instigating change and envisioning the future. On the other hand, leaders are very good at stirring people’s emotions, raising their expectations, and taking them in new directions (both good and bad).”
So… Which are you, manager or leader? And is that what you want to be?
