Leaders and managers – both essential to an organization's success yet carry out vastly different roles. Or at least they should.
The Harvard Business Review describes the differences in the two roles: "Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual's ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control."
Said a different way: "Leadership begins where management ends and smart organizations value both and great organizations work hard to make each a part of their team," writes Lolly Daskal. She goes on to explain some of the differences, including:
- Leaders lead people while managers manage people.
- Leaders set destinations while managers navigate the roads to get there.
- Leaders inspire while managers comfort.
- Leaders have vision while managers are about reaching goals.
- Leaders take ownership while managers take responsibility.
- Leaders break rules while managers make rules.
I encourage you to read her complete list here. A successful organization will be equipped with both solid leaders and managers.
Together the two roles complement each other and will serve their organizations and employees well.
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