Management and Leadership – Is There a Difference?
Certainly there is! While management and leadership should
fundamentally go hand-in-hand and complement one another, they are two very separate
approaches. A manager is an individual who has people that do work for him/her
in efforts to maintain productivity within systems and structure. The manager
assigns tasks and gives instruction to be adhered to – he/she is in control.
The leader, on the other hand, motivates and inspires trust in people. The
leader is innovative and encourages people to take a long-term approach and
alter perspectives in ways where the bottom line is not the main concern. A
leader is followed and is not a carbon copy. The main differences between
management and leadership are that within management, there is little to no
room for freedom of expression or choice for the subordinate. With leadership,
discovering other ways and views are both encouraged and welcomed. Management
tells the people while leadership guides the people.
In order to be most effective in an organizational setting,
you cannot have one without the other. A great manager must be a great leader;
and a great leader must be a superb manager of people. A successful person of
power must be able to instruct and lead his/her team to success and alignment with
his/her vision for the company or team.