Some people think management and leadership are interchangeable, but there are differences between a manager and a leader. Can you detail the differences?
Not every leader is a manager, nor is every manager a leader. The qualities and duties of each role are different.
Understanding the differences is essential, considering 79 percent of your employees will quit if they perceive unappreciative management. That may be why 83 percent of companies say leadership training is crucial to their business.
However, less than 5 percent of companies have implemented leadership development programs across all levels, and this gets us to the core reason for that 79 percent of employees leaving a company.
"The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and continually develops them." – John Maxwell
What Is Leadership?
Leaders' abilities to influence people through communicating a vision, building team buy-in, and creating a strong sense of teamwork help them accomplish their goals. They stoke initiative and inspire great team effort to realize company visions.
Traits of a leader:
- Vision. Leaders know where they stand and where they want to go.
- Integrity. People believe and follow good leaders.
- Ability to inspire. Leaders motivate their team to accomplish goals.
- Good communication skills. Leaders have the skills required to keep their team informed about expectations.
- Ability to problem solve. This empowers good leaders to think outside the box.
Manager vs leader insight: A leader envisions change, while the manager's goal is to maintain what is already in place.
The team leader develops new ideas to transition the business, increasing growth and success. Their knowledge of current trends, skillsets, and advancements gives them a clear vision and purpose. At the same time, their understanding of how people think, the different styles of communicating, various ways to inspire, and an ability to lead from the front are some of the secret ingredients that make a leader a leader. Leadership is a skill one can learn; some are naturally better, but all can be good leaders once they know how.
What Is Management?
Traits of a manager:
- Ability to direct.
- Ability to execute a vision.
- Ability to establish standards, processes, operating procedures, and rules.
- Takes responsibility for looking after the needs of people working for them.
A manager is not a leader unless they carry out leadership responsibilities. Communicating, providing guidance, and inspiring employees are not talents many managers have. But leadership skills can be learned with proper guidance and training. The difference in the effectiveness of the team is dramatically better when their managers are trained to be not just highly effective managers but also better leaders.
The manager’s job description details the duties. The manager's power is their authority to reward, promote, hire, and fire those below them. Their subordinates follow directions because of their lower job classification, not social influence.
Managers often have poor leadership skills. However, a manager that has been trained can inspire employees and make a huge difference in whether they are simply “going through the motions” or are motivated to put forth their best effort.
Management vs Leadership Differences
Managerial responsibilities include controlling business operations to achieve company objectives. A leader communicates with employees using social attributes to motivate and achieve goals
The differences in these positions include:
- Managers count value – leaders create value,
- Managers have a circle of power – leaders have a circle of influence,
- Managers manage people – leaders lead people,
- Managers maintain status – leaders make change,
- Managers evaluate risk – leaders take risks,
- Management education is accessible – leadership training takes time, and
- Managers create systems – leaders create relationships.
Leaders are visionaries. They look at where the company is versus where it wants to go. Leaders determine the best method for meeting that goal.
Managers look at goals from an organizational viewpoint. Their method of achieving goals is corporate structuring, staffing, and budgeting. Managers do not look to make changes; they aim to maintain what is already in place.
A leader envisions the future and whether they need to implement new processes. Leaders initiate the changes necessary to grow the business.
Management vs Leadership: Which Is Better?
Both management and leadership are essential to the advancement of your company. A leader envisions achieving goals by motivating subordinates. A manager puts that vision into action by organizing, planning, strategizing, and budgeting.
Management breaks down tasks into small segments. Leadership takes those tasks, determining how to implement them by motivating employees to accomplish their goals.
A management position is created within your company through the hiring process. They hire in with specific tasks to fulfill.
Leaders emerge during the work process. Their behavior inspires others to follow them, working for the company's betterment.
Both positions require delegating work to subordinates. This involves deciding what tasks to assign and the best person for each task. They must ensure employees’ ability to do the work and provide praise and feedback without micromanaging.
Importance of Management and Leadership
Management and leadership are vital to the success of a business. Leaders uphold business values and ethics, while managers structure teams and achieve targets.
Because most managers and leaders are never taught how to manage or lead people, productivity, loyalty, effort, and profits can all take big hits. Training helps businesses build managers and leaders to so the company can be an easier to manage, happier, more profitable, and become more valuable should the owners decide to sell.
KWYNK IT
Knowing what you now know, are you going to ignore the profit-boosting power of manager and leadership training or join the highly successful and profitable companies that invest in their employees? They learned that their employees power the machine that makes everything else possible. You wouldn’t settle for a machine that ran erratically, where some components get stuck, and produces products at half-speed would you?
Teams are your economic engine. Invest in maintenance and upgrades so it runs at 120 percent not 80 percent.
Join the winners and train your leaders and managers properly.
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