MANAGEMENT VS LEADERSHIP; UNDERSTANDING THE KEY DIFFERENCE

A manager is a member of an organization with the responsibility of carrying out the four important functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. But are all managers leaders?

Most managers also tend to be leaders, but only IF they also adequately carry out the leadership responsibilities of management, which include communication, motivation, providing inspiration and guidance, and encouraging employees to rise to a higher level of productivity.

Unfortunately, not all managers are leaders. Some managers have poor leadership qualities, and employees follow orders from their managers because they are obligated to do so—not necessarily because they are influenced or inspired by the leader.

Leaders are always networking. By doing so, they are creating a support system that can help encourage and influence their vision. They engage often with their team to ensure they are satisfied and tend to over-deliver on their promise. This is done with the intention of building trust and support, which benefits everyone in the long haul, especially when it comes to supporting the leader’s vision.?

Managers focus on the arrangement and structure of the system, procedures?and techniques needed to set and achieve certain goals. They aim to ensure everything is in place to reach the desired outcomes. While they too work with their team or individual clients to ensure goals are reached, they focus more on directing than teaching.

Leadership and management are the terms that are often considered synonymous. It is essential to understand that leadership is an essential part of effective management. As a crucial component of management, remarkable leadership behaviour stresses upon building an environment in which each and every employee develops and excels. Leadership is defined as the potential to influence and drive the group efforts towards the accomplishment of goals. This influence may originate from formal sources, such as that provided by acquisition of managerial position in an organization.

SOME OF THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS ARE:

Honesty & Integrity:

These are crucial to getting your people to believe you and buy into the journey you are taking them on.

Vision:

Vision know where you are, where you want to go and enroll 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.

Leadership means influencing others in a good way, leading the team by taking the responsibility of everything, even if it is case of crisis. Leadership is all about inspiring, teaching, motivating and appreciating. Leadership is about winning trust of your coworkers, no matter what your decission is they should always stand with your decission without hesitation and making them work for you happily with a feeling of self-satisfaction. It calls for communication, negoitation, honesty, and great co-operation “Leadership is doing right things in right way, whereas mangement is about doing right things.”

Whereas Management is about managing and organising things. It is all about managing various aspects of business, including functions, operations and people. Management has pre-defined responsiblity to take care of. No doubt to being a good manager demands for being a good leader first. However management in the real world is all about authorities and delegation, one assign the task to diiferent team members, but he/she dont care how they solve or finish them. All they care is about results and progress. However not all managers are same, there are some who possesses both the quality of manager and leader and I believe they are the true leaders and difference maker.