Comparing Managers and Leaders

Managers vs. Leaders Sometimes people confuse managers and leaders, assuming that the qualities that make one a proficient leader will translate into management or that management skills mean one is a good leader. While there is some significant overlap between management and leadership, it is important to recognize that they are not synonyms. Not all leaders are successful managers, and not all managers make good leaders.

However, the confusion stems from the fact that leaders and managers are often the same people, and, when they are not, must work together to create successful leaderships and management teams. "Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves" (Murray, 2014).

In order to understand this concept, it is important to examine three ways that managers and leaders differ: managers count value while leaders create value; managers have circles of power while leaders have circles of influence; and leaders lead people while managers manage work (Nayar, 2013). The first difference Nayar indicates is that managers count value while leaders create it (2013). Another way to look at this is to examine function and structure. Managers are responsible for maintaining systems that are established.

For day-to-day operations, this can be critical to the success of an organization, particularly organizations where work is cumulative and the success of different divisions or subgroups depends upon task completion by other groups. Leaders may be creating value, but, if they neglect to maintain the value that is already established and ensure that work is completed, this innovation can actually threaten the established structure of the company. One of the ways to view this is to think about Apple and the success of their "i" line of products.

The innovation has played a critical role in that success, but so has the secrecy. Managers have been in charge of very detailed secrecy programs at the business that have been necessary for maintaining and counting value, while leaders have been responsible for next-level innovation. The second difference Nayar indicates that managers have circles of power while leaders have circles of influence (2013). Leaders work through inspiration and that is wonderful, but it is also true that not all people will respond to all leaders.

A manager must be able to exert control over people that goes outside of the leadership arena. Without the possibility of consequences, some people would not function. Even if a manager's only control is the ability to determine whether or not a person is an appropriate fit for a team, that level of control can be outcome-determinative. A leader could divert more resources to leading a recalcitrant team member than would be a prudent use of team resources.

The final difference that Nayar indicates is that leaders lead people while managers manage work (2013). One of the things that is imperative to keep in mind is that, in most workplace scenarios, management is about achieving goals. As a result, a manager must play an administrative function. In addition to handling job goals, managers often have to oversee.