How Leaders Differ from Managers

By SiliconIndia   |   Tuesday, 27 December, 2011
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Bangalore: Though leadership and management go hand in hand, they are not the same thing. But are unavoidably associated, and paired. Efforts made to separate the two causes more problems than it can solve. The difference between the two might have been questioned more than once, but what needs to be focused is that it has been answered in different ways! Much ink has been spent demarcating the distinction. The best we could do was to list that the manager's job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leader's job is to inspire and motivate. The manager administers; the leader innovates.

So what exactly is leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management? In a nutshell, the dissimilarity is:

A leader is the forefront for that new direction or vision for a group that they follow.

Management reins or guide associates /funds in a group according to values or ethics that have already been recognized.
The difference can be exemplified by bearing in mind what would take place when you have one without the other.

•The manager sustains; the leader develops.
•The manager concentrates on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
•The manager depends on power; the leader motivates trust.
•The manager has a short-term sight; the leader has a long-range outlook.
•The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
•The manager has his or her eye always on the sine qua non; the leader's eye is on the possibility.
•The manager accepts the status quo; the leader dares it.
•The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
•The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Management and leadership are not easily alienated. Workers look to their managers, not just to allocate them a job, but to describe for them a reason. And bosses must put in order personnel, not just to make the most of efficiency, but to foster proficiency, augment talent and inspire results.
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