‘Management and Leadership’, usually these words are generally heard together. Do they relate to each other? Are there differences between them? This is a discussion that has been going on for some time and will be there for some time to come. This is a general topic for discussion in various management training programs and management training courses. The fact is that you cannot escape this topic if you attend all types of management training programs.
A leader is a person who leads while the manager is the person who manages. It’s not funny, but we have to start somewhere and what is better than the basic definition. The biggest difference as perceived by others is the way they motivate people. In life there is nothing black or white, everything is a different gray. Likewise a manager can become a leader and vice versa. So, we can have a combination of both.
Management training manual will notify you that managers have subordinates. Managers are given some strength by the company and subordinates must be done as ordered. Incentives for subordinates to do what the manager said is a gift given. So, if the subordinate is like he is told that they will get their paid. They are not blind robots but incentives make them behave like that. Instead the leaders have followers. And here are voluntary activities. Leaders do not tell people what to do, instead they show it by taking the initiative and doing things first. Leaders show them that if they follow their leaders will fulfill their hearts.
What is the main focus for a manager? Management training programs and management training courses will notify you that the focus head for a manager must be a manager. They paid to finish something. However, their own subordinate to other managers. They often have deadlines soaring forward so they are not able to focus on anything else. Leaders on the other side focus on people. They have a way with people; They provide credit to others and blame themselves. This creates a faithful base of followers around them. This does not mean that they are very friendly with their followers. Instead most of them maintain some kind of solitude to maintain their mystics.
The manager seems to be looking for a comfortable life. They are planners and avoid taking risks. They avoid situations that will cause conflict and prefer to have friendly relationships with others. The leader on the other hand, seems to be looking for risk. Not that they are looking for sensations. The problem is that leaders have a vision and so on, ready to face the problems they meet to make that vision come true.
There are differences in the perspective of both. While managers think gradually, leaders think radically. You have all heard of phrases “managers do the right things while leaders do the right thing.” So, while managers tend to think with the book, leaders tend to go more than their intuition. A pragmatic manager while a more emotional leader. That’s why we tend to follow leaders because they reach us at the emotional level. Management usually consists of people who are experienced in their fields. They are people who know how the whole system works. A leader on the other hand can be a new employee with new ideas and visions, but without the experience and wisdom needed to make it work.
So, will Twain never meet? They will and they do it. As any management training experts will declare a great manager is a person who is also a good leader. However, for managers to be effective, he cannot only be a leader. He needs formal management authorities to be very effective. Likewise a leader needs to have some managerial skills if he must realize his vision. We can continue the difference between management and leadership. Understanding differences is needed to make the workplace more productive.
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