Leadership vs. Management: Trust Makes All the Difference
Look online, and you’ll find an abundance of memes comparing the traits of managers and leaders. Many show the manager sitting behind a desk with the whip to his people, while the leader is in front of the pack and leading the charge.
But is it really that simple in our day-to-day work lives? I don’t own a whip; am I automatically a leader? How must we act to distinguish ourselves as leaders instead of managers?
The first step is knowing the difference, and I have a simple way of distinguishing between the two roles.
Managers Versus Leaders
The difference between managers and leaders is how they view their most essential resource: their team. A manager manages the team’s actions, whereas a leader manages the team’s development. The managerial viewpoint is concerned with maintaining the bottom line, while the leadership viewpoint drives growth for both the team members and the organization as a whole.
To illustrate, assume you work at a tech company, and there is a new software product scheduled for release. The team of software engineers is the primary resource to make this launch happen. Managers tie their success to the efficient delivery of quality products, processes, or services. In our example, the manager’s sole responsibility is to deliver a quality software package to the market on schedule while meeting the stakeholders’ budgetary constraints. Just as the budget, schedule, and quality are managed to remain on the established project plan, so are the resources. The team members (resources) have established instructions, directives, and expectations to complete the project. The manager’s goal is a successful product delivery.
Leaders take a different approach and measure their success through the development of their team. It is the leader’s responsibility to grow, empower, and motivate their employees. The leader’s objective is to provide the proper training, coaching, or tools to the team members to help them become their most successful versions of themselves. The leader’s goal is the growth and enhancement of each team member.
Although a leader’s main objective is to enhance their team members, they still need to bring the product in on time and within budget. If your focus is solely on your employees and not making sure the software gets to market as planned by the stakeholders, you probably won’t be in a leadership position for long. Does that mean a leader has to be a manager first?
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