Manager vs Leader? What’s the difference?

leadership coaching Chesterfield leader vs manager

leadership coaching Chesterfield leader vs managerWhat is the difference between leadership and management?

The main difference between leaders and managers is that leaders have people follow them while managers have people who work for them. Leaders are often described as setting the visions and direction whilst managers carry out the doing.

We don’t all work in massive organisations where we can be one or the other.  In reality, a successful business owner, or leader in an organisation, needs to be both a strong leader and manager to get their team on board to follow them towards their vision of success whilst getting things done.

Is a good manager automatically a good leader?

Leadership is about getting people to understand and believe in your vision and to work with you to achieve your goals while managing is more about administering and making sure the day-to-day things are happening as they should. Each requires specific skills, knowledge and behaviours.

And for most people the act of Manager vs Leader is a juggling act.

WHILE THERE ARE MANY TRAITS THAT MAKE UP A STRONG LEADER, SOME OF THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS ARE:

  • Honesty & Integrity: are crucial to get your people to believe you and buy in to the journey you are taking them on
  • Vision: know where you are, where you want to go and enrol your team in charting a path for the future
  • Inspiration: inspire your team to be all they can by making sure they understand their role in the bigger picture
  • Ability to Challenge: do not be afraid to challenge the status quo, do things differently and have the courage to think outside the box
  • Communication Skills: keep your team informed of the journey, where you are, where you are heading and share any roadblocks you may encounter along the way

SOME OF THE COMMON TRAITS SHARED BY STRONG MANAGERS ARE:

  • Being Able to Execute a Vision: take a strategic vision and break it down into a roadmap to be followed by the team
  • Ability to Direct: day-to-day work efforts, review resources needed and anticipate needs along the way
  • Process Management: establish work rules, processes, standards and operating procedures
  • People Focused: look after your people, their needs, listen to them and involve them

Are you both a leader and a manager; what would your staff say if you were to ask them?

FOCUS - Energy Flows Where Attention Goes. So, as we know where we pay attention and put in work, we get results.

Where are your potential skills and knowledge gaps and where are you potential de-railers?

Could you leverage more of your strengths to support you even further?

Contact me if you would like to take an assessment to identify where your leadership traits and behaviours are now and come up with a plan to develop them for the future.