Management vs. Leadership: Unleashing Your Team’s Potential

Hey there! Some people think management and leadership are the same, but let me tell you – they're not. Do you know the differences?

Not every leader is a manager, and not every manager is a leader. These roles have different qualities and duties.

Understanding these differences is crucial because 79% of employees will quit if they don't feel appreciated by their managers. No wonder 83% of companies say leadership training is essential, yet less than 5% have leadership development programs across all levels. Let’s dive into why that is.

"The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and continually develops them." – John Maxwell

What Is Leadership?

Leaders have the ability to influence people by communicating a vision, building team buy-in, and fostering a strong sense of teamwork. They stoke initiative and inspire great team effort to achieve company goals.

Traits of a leader:

• Good communication skills: Leaders keep their team informed about expectations.

• Integrity: People believe and follow good leaders.

• Empathy: Facilitates open communication, mutual respect, and inspiration.

• Vision: Leaders know where they stand and where they want to go.

• Ability to inspire: Leaders motivate their team to accomplish goals.

• Problem-solving skills: Enables leaders to think outside the box.

Managers vs. Leaders: A leader envisions and inspires change, while the manager's goal is to maintain what is already in place.

A leader develops new ideas to drive business growth and success. They understand current trends, skillsets, and advancements, giving them a clear vision and purpose. Their knack for understanding how people think, communicating effectively, inspiring others, and leading from the front are what make leaders stand out. Leadership is a skill that can be learned – some are naturally better, but everyone can be a good leader once they know how.

What Is Management?

Traits of a manager:

• Ability to direct: Managers guide their teams effectively.

• Ability to execute a vision: They turn plans into action.

• Ability to establish standards and procedures: Managers create the framework for operations.

• Responsibility for their team: They look after the needs of their people.

A manager is not automatically a leader. A manager can (and generally should) be a leader if they act like one! Communicating, providing guidance, and inspiring employees are not talents many managers naturally have. But leadership skills can be learned with proper training. When managers are trained to be both effective managers and inspiring leaders, the difference in team performance is dramatic.

Management vs. Leadership: A Comparison

Managerial responsibilities generally involve controlling business operations to achieve company objectives. Leaders, on the other hand, use emotional intelligence to communicate and motivate their teams to reach goals.

Differences include:

• Managers count value – leaders create value

• Managers have a circle of power – leaders have a circle of influence

• Managers coordinate people – leaders inspire people

• Managers maintain status – leaders make change

• Managers evaluate risk – leaders take risks

• Management education is accessible – leadership training takes time

• Managers create systems – leaders create relationships

Leaders are visionaries. They see where the company is and where it needs to go. Leaders determine the best method for achieving that vision, often by initiating necessary changes. Managers look at goals from an organizational viewpoint, focusing on corporate structuring, staffing, and budgeting. Managers aim to maintain the status quo, while leaders push for growth and innovation.

Management vs. Leadership: Which is Better?

Both management and leadership are essential for your company’s success. Leaders motivate subordinates to achieve goals, while managers organize, plan, strategize, and budget to make those visions a reality. Sometimes, one person wears both hats.

Management breaks tasks down into small segments. Leadership determines how to motivate employees to accomplish those tasks.

A management position is created through the hiring process, with specific tasks to fulfill. Leaders, however, often emerge organically during the work process. Their behavior inspires others to follow them, working for the company's betterment. It’s entirely possible for someone in a non-management role to be a leader!

Both roles require delegating work, deciding on tasks, assigning the right person for each job, and ensuring employees can perform their tasks well. They must also provide praise and feedback without micromanaging.

Importance of Management and Leadership

Management and leadership are vital for a business’s success. Leaders uphold business values and ethics, while managers structure teams and achieve targets.

Most managers and leaders are never taught how to manage or lead people. Consequently, productivity, loyalty, effort, and profit can all suffer. Training helps businesses build managers and leaders, making the company more successful, profitable, a better place to work, easier for ownership to run, and more valuable if ownership decides to sell.

KWYNK IT

Knowing what you now know, are you going to ignore the profit-boosting power of management and leadership training or join the highly successful and profitable companies that invest in their employees? They’ve learned that employees power the machine that makes everything else possible. You wouldn’t settle for a machine that ran erratically, where some components get stuck, and produced products at half-speed, would you?

Teams are your economic engine, and people are your most valuable asset. Invest in maintenance and upgrades so it runs at 120 percent, not 80 percent.

Join the winners and train your leaders and managers properly.