Managers vs Leaders- Why they are both needed

In today’s corporate speak, the terms manager and leader are largely interchangeable. It’s important to understand the difference between the two, and when to employ each respective form, when working with team members.

Manager

Managers are task oriented. They focus on efficiency, structure, speed, systems, and ensuring tasks are performed correctly. Typically, they look at efficiency scores, quality measurements, and allocation of work.

Managers get things done.

Quite often they are technically strong, proficient in their chosen field, providing experience and competence to team members. They understand the fundamentals and can explain the basic principles and functions of a given task.

What makes a manager great is their ability to explain and communicate to others, reducing the complicated down to the easy, making it simple for others to understand.

Leader

Leaders set the direction. They focus on purpose, effectiveness, and investment.

An important part of leadership is the ability to look to the future and identify both opportunities and threats. Leaders focus on vision. They always have the end in mind, driving their people towards common goals.

Leaders play a significant role in setting the company’s culture. Leaders inspire greatness and motivate their teams. A strong leader establishes an engaged and safe working environment, allowing each team member to utilise their individual talents, creating an environment of personal growth. The result is an environment where ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts"

“Leaders are architects, Managers are the builders” – John Marriotti

“The difference between Managers and Leaders... Managers have as their goal to do things right; Coaches (Leaders) have as their goal to do the right thing” - Professor Warren Bennis

A duality exists between both management and leadership. To create the optimal work environment you need both skillsets, and the wisdom to know when to employ each model. It may seem natural that leaders will lead, but there is an art to knowing when to be in the trenches with your team and when you need to step back and make directional decisions.

There is a misconception that only strong leadership is required for a business to thrive. This is not correct. The two forms need to co-exist - leadership is only effective with effective management. They go hand in hand. There are countless horror stories of businesses that have failed to ‘manage’ their business with serious implications to customer experience, profitability, and regulatory compliance.

Some people find it difficult to transition from Product/Process specialist to a leader of people, but this is a topic for another time.