Difference between leaders and managers
Dear Deb and colleagues,
The difference between a manager and a leader is that the former ensures control and rationality, her/his focus is on day to day problem solving, best means in achieving results for staff to continue to contribute to the organisation (Zaleznik,1992) . While a leader uses power to influence actions and people, focusing more on outcomes and impact, where this action has inherited risks such as the risk of losing self- control in the need for power (Zaleznik,1992).
While leaders and managers have common traits such as sound communication skills, work ethics, integrity, key technical competencies, etc, yet there are some differences. These differences can be summarised as follows:
Risk taking: Manager are regulators of affairs in an organisation, getting rewards from collective achievements . Therefore, to be a good manager, it requires persistence, patience, intelligence, analytical skills, and goodwill. Leaders think out of a box and work with high risk initiatives. While managers, unlike leaders, tend to solve problems in a more conservative way and tend to tolerate mundane and practical work (Zaeznik,1992). Leaders on the other hand are risk takers.
Relationships: Manager work with people to implement initiatives, solve problems, by focusing staff on policies and procedures and not on content (Zaleznik,1992). They are engrossed in how to make decisions, but not what are the rights decisions to make. While leaders attract strong feelings of identity and difference. Their human relationship might seem turbulent, intensifying motivation and often resulting in unanticipated results (Zaleznik, 1992).
Sense of self-worth: managers’ sense of self-worth is secured by ensuring and strengthening existing institutions. While leaders feel separate from their institutions, their perception of identity is different (Zaleznik, 1992). They may work in an organisation and never have a sense of belonging, always seeking opportunities for
The difference between a manager and a leader is that the former ensures control and rationality, her/his focus is on day to day problem solving, best means in achieving results for staff to continue to contribute to the organisation (Zaleznik,1992) . While a leader uses power to influence actions and people, focusing more on outcomes and impact, where this action has inherited risks such as the risk of losing self- control in the need for power (Zaleznik,1992).
While leaders and managers have common traits such as sound communication skills, work ethics, integrity, key technical competencies, etc, yet there are some differences. These differences can be summarised as follows:
Risk taking: Manager are regulators of affairs in an organisation, getting rewards from collective achievements . Therefore, to be a good manager, it requires persistence, patience, intelligence, analytical skills, and goodwill. Leaders think out of a box and work with high risk initiatives. While managers, unlike leaders, tend to solve problems in a more conservative way and tend to tolerate mundane and practical work (Zaeznik,1992). Leaders on the other hand are risk takers.
Relationships: Manager work with people to implement initiatives, solve problems, by focusing staff on policies and procedures and not on content (Zaleznik,1992). They are engrossed in how to make decisions, but not what are the rights decisions to make. While leaders attract strong feelings of identity and difference. Their human relationship might seem turbulent, intensifying motivation and often resulting in unanticipated results (Zaleznik, 1992).
Sense of self-worth: managers’ sense of self-worth is secured by ensuring and strengthening existing institutions. While leaders feel separate from their institutions, their perception of identity is different (Zaleznik, 1992). They may work in an organisation and never have a sense of belonging, always seeking opportunities for