Leadership vs. Management: What You Need to Know

With any organization, direction defines success. Even with the most talented sales team, sustainable revenue is going to be difficult to achieve without someone leading the charge. Some would say that a manager should make sure everyone meets the quota, and a leader can take the company to the next level. Can anyone be a leader? The good news is that leaders can be shaped through real online training and by helping identify their strengths and weaknesses. While some come off to be natural leaders, others are born through experience. Meanwhile, managers move up the ranks through consistent excellent performance, which would serve as a yardstick for directing people.

Leading vs. Managing

Before we can start discussing how leaders and managers can work to set direction, it’s best to differentiate the two. Leading refers to influencing people, while management entails regulating people. Leaders and managers operate through different means. Leaders use their influence to enable people and help them break through, while managers focus on compliance through policies and incentives. An article published by Harvard Business Review reveals that “Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control.”

The Relationship Between the Two

You will find that CEOs, who usually represent corporations, are at the top of the food chain. This might tell you that leaders are valued more than managers; however, managers are just as important because they help companies achieve their desired outcomes by directing teams. On the other hand, leaders would be beneficial in bringing managers together, helping them in collective vision-setting, and empowering them. Effective leaders help mid-level managers develop ownership of their roles; therefore, helping them grow into it. A company would not be successful without effective leaders and managers, as they benefit from each other.