What is the difference between a manager and a leader? June 26, 2019

What is the difference between a manager and a leader?

Sometimes the terms manager and leader are used interchangeably in business. Are managers and leaders the same thing? What is the difference between a manager and a leader?

First let’s define each term.

A manager can be defined as somebody who takes control and is administering, directing and ensuring that things are happening and operating as they should be.

A leader can be defined as somebody who creates a vision that inspires people to follow that vision and move forward towards achieving it.

After comparing each definition, we can draw the conclusion that the main difference between a leader and a manager, is that a manager is someone that has people working for them while a leader has people that follow them.

The overlapping areas of being a manager and a leader is that leadership to some extent will always include the responsibility for managing people. Whilst a lot of the management duties may be delegated to others by the leader, it is still the leader’s responsibility that there is appropriate and effective management in place. Although management can be a function of leadership, leadership is not necessarily a function of management. Managers do not have the responsibility of leading as by definition leading is outside the scope of management tasks.

It is essential to learn how to balance a role between management and leadership when you are a new manager learning the ropes. A successful business owner must learn to be both a strong leader and manager to be able to mobilise their team to follow their vision of success.

London Training for Excellence offers management and leadership training that can help you take your management and leadership skills to the next level. Our professional trainers will motivate new managers and supervisors with tools and techniques to hit the ground running in their roles. To find out more please follow the link to view our leadership and management courses or contact sales@londontfe.com.