Define and compare the role of a leader and the role of a manager
In many cases, people do mistake leaders and managers as the same thing, but they are different in reality. Although the two terms are defined in various fashions, there is one main difference. Leaders have individuals who follow where else, whereas on the other hand, managers have individuals working for them. In a small business like sole proprietors, owners must be both influential leaders and managers for them to be successful and have their team on board as they work towards the realization of their success vision (Turk, 2007, p.20).
Leadership is all about influencing people to stand by your side, believe in your visions for the company, and work together towards achieving your set goals. Management entails more of administration and ensuring that all day-to-day activities occur as expected. However, leadership and management go hand in hand; they are never the same, but they are fundamentally linked, and one compliments the other. Any attempt to divide the two within an institution may lead to havoc than problem-solving. Therefore, it is imperative for any company to be successful to have management (play roles of manger) that can plan, organize, and coordinate staff, while at the same time inspiring and motivating the staff to perform to their level best (Brocato, 2003, pp. 17-22).
With close scrutiny of the two persons, the primary role of leaders is to inspire, and the role of managers is to plan. Leaders seem to possess charismatic personalities, always positive, focused, and determined on making sure that people around them grok their visions and embrace them. On the other end, managers have an idea and direct people around them to either comply with it or leave. In my view, great managers have leadership skills. They can conceive a vision within an institution set goal and motivate employees to work closely with achieving that vision. Although great managers are known to have leadership skills, it does not necessarily preempt that all leaders are managers (Sosik, 2005, pp.221-244).
Interestingly, there is a possibility that one can be both a manager and a leader. When executing managerial roles, the major work is to achieve the short term set goals and objectives of the organization. While when performing leadership roles, the primary work is to conceive a future vision, prepare a solid foundation influencing others to join the journey of heading towards that future vision (Toor, 2011, pp. 310-320). Even original English put the two terms – manage and lead better. Manage means to handle while lead means go before and prepare the way. Managers supervise their staff in doing their day-to-day activities. In contrast, leaders initiate change within the organization and inspire others to move in the paths of greatness (Fletcher & Arnold, 2011, pp. 223-242). As coined by Peter Drucker, management entails doing things right while leadership implies doing the right things.
Compare the characteristics of a manager and a leader
When tasked with a managerial role, it does not automate you to become a leader. There are distinct traits that befits a manager and a leader, with some cutting across (Bertocci, 2009).
Traits of a leader
- Honesty and integrity are two crucial aspects of making people believe in you and tuning to the paths you are taking them on.
- Vision – as a leader, conceiving a vision is the primary role, knowing the current status, where heading to, and bringing the team behind you to the paths of realizing the vision.
- Inspiration – as a leader, inspire your team and motivate them to put in their best by ensuring each understands their role and act accordingly.
- Ability to change – leaders are never afraid to challenge their status quo. They approach things from multiple angles with the courage to reason outside the box.
- Communication skills – communication is a potent weapon that can get things done the right way or otherwise. Leaders have proper communication skills for passing messages to the team, informing them where they are, heading to, a roadmap towards achieving the future vision, and any barrier likely to be encountered on the path.
Traits of a manager
- Ability to execute a vision – managers are expected to take a strategic vision, break it down to a simple, approachable roadmap that can quickly be adopted by the team.
- People concern – managers ought to be considerate in treating their staff fairly by looking after them, listening to their needs, and involving them.
- Ability to direct – in the execution of day-to-day work, managers are expected to direct certain work to their staff and expect results within the stipulated timeframe. Therefore, managers should be able to review work efforts, required resources, anticipated needs, and reward them accordingly.
- Process management – the success of an organization entirely depends on the activeness of the manager. The manager is expected to prepare work rules, standards, processes, and procedures of operation.