Management vs Leadership qualities

Abstract

Both leaders and managers require critical skills to make good decisions and solve problems, although leaders make decisions at a higher level while managers make decisions at the departmental level. The article discusses the differences between leaders and managers, emphasizing that leadership involves driving positive organizational change through developing a vision. In contrast, management involves guiding and directing individuals toward common goals and strategies. The focus, skillset, and vision differ between these roles, although leaders and managers share common areas of responsibility, such as communication, decision-making, problem-solving, time management, and emotional intelligence. Influential leaders must communicate the company's vision, mission, and plans to the workforce, inspire and motivate their employees, and align their work and personal values with the company's objectives. Managers must execute plans to meet the company's goals, keep employees aligned with the company's central goals and values, and constantly monitor the situation and adjust plans to achieve the desired outcome.

The difference between managers and leaders

Leaders and managers are often used interchangeably, but there are significant differences between these two critical roles. While both leaders and managers play an essential role within an organization, their definitions of them are different.

    Leadership is defined as driving positive change within the workplace, which involves developing a vision or ideas to guide that change. 
    Effective leadership empowers individuals to turn their vision into reality, even with challenges.

    Management is defined as a role to guide and direct individuals who may need to be more motivated or misdirected toward common goals and strategies. 
    While leaders define the vision and strategy, managers plan and execute tasks to archive the goals.

It is important to note that a manager in an organizational chart may sit atop the hierarchy, while individuals can lead without holding a managerial position. Not all managers are influential leaders and may be appointed for the role based on their technical knowledge and expertise. Leaders at any position in the hierarchy have naturally gained followers willing to support them in reaching the vision. Overall, leaders and managers have some similarities, but the roles are distinct. Understanding the differences in three main areas: Focus, skillset, and vision, will give a more precise overview.

Focus

Leaders focus on discovering ways to support and inspire their employees, mobilizing them to execute a series of distinct and collective undertakings. They pursue vital company initiatives, present new ideas, and drive change to an avant-garde mindset. Leaders communicate in a high-level yet empathetic way and trigger positive, slow changes by empowering workers to work towards common goals. Their job is to sustain the firm culture's core business values and mindset through their actions, genuine interaction, and choices, influencing how workers take and abide by that culture.

On the other hand, managers direct, maintain, and center their efforts on the process and structure of carrying out tasks, pursuing the firm's goals through synchronized actions. Their main work is to safeguard that workers in different roles with different accountabilities work productively while feeling that they can realize the objective. They continuously monitor the outcome by controlling workers and providing needed information, techniques, and tools to succeed correctly. However, some managers may need help understanding the reason for the change and may not even be aware of the change happening in worse scenarios.

Leaders and managers should work together to sustain the firm culture's core business values and mindset and achieve the company's goals. Two-way communication should be established among workers, managers, and leaders, and managers should adequately understand the reason for the change to reinforce change communication messages. With efficient interaction and continuous feedback, leaders can inspire and energize their workforce, catch their fans' attention, and motivate them to follow necessary organizational plans, impacting employee engagement positively. Meanwhile, managers control workers, provide needed information, techniques, and tools to properly succeed, and direct their employees towards adjusting to the company culture shaped by the leader.

Vision

Leaders typically clearly understand where they want their organizations to be in the next five or ten years. They recognize that they are only partially responsible for realizing their vision. Therefore, they communicate openly about the company's goals, prospects, and challenges to build trust and foster a supportive work environment. Doing so encourages employees to share their ideas, needs, and concerns, leading to a more engaged workforce. However, a leader's vision is only meaningful if they can communicate it to their employees. Therefore, leaders must inspire and motivate their staff to achieve the company's vision. The purpose is a critical driver of staff loyalty and engagement, so leaders must ensure that employees' work and personal values are aligned with the company's objectives.

In contrast, managers are responsible for executing plans to meet the company's goals. For example, the Finance Manager handles budgeting, while the Administrative Manager oversees staffing and corporate structuring. The department managers must work together to achieve the company's objectives. Overall, leaders focus on communicating the vision, mission, and plans to the workforce, while managers keep employees aligned with the company's central goals and values.

The similarities between managers and leaders

The understanding of the distinctions between the roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers is clear now. However, the two positions have a common area of duties, skills, and traits. While leaders and managers have distinct roles, their shared responsibilities are essential for success in today's business landscape. The following chapters will highlight the similarities in some of the most critical areas: Communication, decision-making and problem-solving, time management, and emotional intelligence.

Communication

Communication is a critical skill for both leaders and managers. While leaders have to focus when someone is talking to them, including what is said and left unsaid, managers usually do one-way communication. In an organization, communication is crucial; every single employee looks forward to being informed and prepared for what their firm stands for and intends to archive in the future. Communication between leaders interacts with the motivation of people, while managers' communication style empowers people to perform at their best and build stronger teams

Decision-making and Problem-solving

Leaders are seen as influential individuals who can quickly make decisions and communicate them to others with a clear goal. They have a strategic problem-solving approach and a foundation for managing and addressing issues. Influential leaders can balance emotion and reason, making decisions that benefit themselves, their employees, clients, shareholders, and the organization.

For managers, Problem-solving is a continual process that involves evaluating situations, considering alternatives, making decisions, and following up with the necessary actions. This process requires managers to constantly monitor the situation and adjust their plans to achieve the desired outcome.

Both leaders and managers are responsible for making good decisions and solving problems. While leaders focus on making decisions at a higher level, managers make decisions at the departmental level. In essence, effective decision-making and problem-solving are critical skills required of both leaders and managers for the organization's success.

Emotional Intelligence

The connection between being a leader and a manager is understanding what motivates individuals and drives their behavior. This involves bringing out the best in each team member according to the intended goals. To achieve this, leaders and managers must possess emotional intelligence. Since organizations consist of people, emotions inevitably come into play in the workplace. The emotional states of individuals are significant drivers of motivation or de-motivation. A worker's output is influenced by their emotions alone, whether we like to admit it or not. This is evident in need to balance work and life and the importance of emotionally intelligent managers and leaders.

Today's world is fast-paced, not only in terms of business dealings but also in social contexts. Technology integration into our lives has accelerated global trade and movements of goods, services, human resources, and social customs. Consequently, the workforce is becoming increasingly diverse, with leaders and managers seeking to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. In such a setting, being highly attuned to people's emotional states is critical. Emotional intelligence involves the ability to recognize and understand one's emotions and those of others, as well as manage moods and relationships. Emotional intelligence encompasses four key aspects: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills. Leaders and managers who possess emotional intelligence can inspire trust and confidence in their team members, empowering them to engage in constructive endeavors. Conversely, leaders and managers who lack emotional intelligence can negatively impact their team members, leading to destructive outcomes. Since leaders and managers significantly impact their team members' drive and mindset, emotional intelligence is a shared trait that must be honed.

It is essential to recognize the relevance and importance of emotions in work outcomes, even if addressing the emotional aspects of interpersonal relationships can be challenging. When providing feedback or conducting training, comments must be given appropriately. Leaders and managers must be aware of their team members' concerns and self-doubt, which may be expressed or hidden. The higher a person's position in a company, the more critical it is to understand and address their anxieties proactively.

Leaders and managers must cultivate their emotional intelligence and people skills to attract and retain talented and motivated team members. Developing emotional intelligence requires diligent practice and targeted effort, but fostering this trait over time is possible.

Annotated Bibliography

Coleman, D. (2004) “What makes a Leader? .” Available at: https://www.icab.org.bd/icabadmin/uploads/ckeditor/340508-06-2015Daniel%20Goleman.pdf (Accessed: February 19, 2023).

McQueen, Z. (2021) Leadership vs. Management: How to motivate and develop our team’s capabilities through effective communication, coaching, and training. Independently Published.