Are you curious about the difference between management and leadership?
Leadership skills are often considered to be an important prerequisite for being a successful manager. Many of us believe that we need to be assertive and take initiative in the workplace in order to climb the corporate ladder and take up managerial roles in the future. However, what we don’t realize is that leadership and management are quite different, to begin with. Continue reading this article to find out the difference between leadership and management.
Leaders Promote Visions but Managers Promote Goal Attainment
The main difference between leaders and managers is what they promote. Leaders are ambitious people who imagine a new world of possibilities. They inspire and convince other people to believe in their vision and make active efforts to achieve it. Leaders think out of the box and encourage people to take part in a collective effort to support a bigger cause.
On the other hand, managers focus on increasing individual productivity and the attainment of independent goals. Managers delegate simple routine tasks to employees to achieve the objectives of the organization. They also evaluate the job performance of every employee individually.
Leaders Bring about a Change but Managers Bring Stability
The next difference is that Leaders love the chaos of change whereas managers avoid it. They proudly disrupt the order of a system to bring about revolutionary changes. Leaders aim for innovation despite the interruption and challenges that the waves of change bring with them. The same cannot be said about managers.
Managers play it safe and maintain the status quo. Managers do not aim for extreme changes but rather stability. Managers continue to do things the way they have been done in the past and refine systems with small gradual changes. Managers want improvement but they implement changes in a more smooth and gradual manner.
Leaders Are Risk-Takers but Managers Are Risk-Mitigators
Another key difference between leaders and managers is that leaders love to take blind risks based on their beliefs whereas managers only take calculated risks. Leaders are always willing to try new things to support their vision even if they have no guarantee of success. Leaders are not afraid to fail and will never back down from taking risky decisions if there is a small chance that it might help them on their path to success.
Managers, on the other hand, always try to minimize risk. They always weigh the pros and cons of a situation and then take a calculated risk. Managers constantly make efforts to avoid problems and find ways to get a job done by involving minimal risk.
Leaders have blind followers but managers have cooperative employees
The last important difference between leaders and managers is in the way they work with other people. Leaders often have devoted followers who have blind faith who follow the leader’s commands and requests without ever questioning them. This is not the case with managers. Managers give guidelines to and work with independent dedicated employees who have a mind of their own. Effective managers are always open to intellectual discussion and confidently answer questions from their employees.
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