There is a difference between "leadership" and "management." Most of us work for managers, most of the time. What we often want are leaders, even if some elements of both arguably are needed some of the time.
Leadership might be said to be about influencing people, while management might be said to be about control and creating predictable results.
source: Researchgate
Not all managers exercise leadership. Sometimes they don't have to do so. A manager possesses formal authority over resources, budgets, schedules, or people, but not every situation calls for exercise of leadership skills.
Role | Why Management Matters More Than Leadership | Why Leadership Is Less Critical |
Payroll manager | Accuracy, compliance, deadlines, controls | Processes are highly standardized |
Accounts payable supervisor | Transaction processing and auditability | Little need to create organizational change |
Air traffic control shift supervisor | Strict adherence to procedures | Innovation can be undesirable during operations |
Nuclear power plant operations manager | Safety and process discipline dominate | Consistency outweighs vision |
Warehouse scheduling manager | Resource allocation and throughput optimization | Employees typically follow established procedures |
Regulatory compliance manager | Monitoring, reporting, and enforcement | Persuasion plays a smaller role than compliance |
Manufacturing line supervisor | Quality, efficiency, staffing | Limited need for strategic transformation |
Conversely, not all leaders manage. A leader possesses influence, whether or not formal authority exists. The examples include leadership in a combat situation.
Role | Leadership Characteristics | Management Authority |
Scientific thought leader | Shapes research agenda through expertise | Often has no line authority |
Distinguished engineer | Influences technical direction through credibility | May manage no employees |
Open-source software creator | Mobilizes contributors around a vision | Usually lacks formal authority |
Social movement organizer | Creates commitment and purpose | Few formal management responsibilities |
University professor | Influences students and colleagues | Typically manages little organizational infrastructure |
Industry analyst | Influences strategic decisions across firms | No direct authority over followers |
Religious leader of a voluntary group | Influence depends largely on trust and shared values | Limited formal managerial control |
One classic formulation is that managers do things right; leaders do the right things.
The terms “leader” and “manager,” like the terms “leadership” and “management,” often are used interchangeably, and probably should not be, as they are very different things.
Dimension | Management | Leadership |
Primary Purpose | Create order, consistency, and predictability | Create change, adaptation, and movement |
Core Question | "How do we execute efficiently?" | "Where should we go next?" |
Focus | Processes, systems, resources | People, purpose, direction |
Time Horizon | Short- to medium-term | Long-term |
Key Activities | Planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling | Vision-setting, aligning, motivating, inspiring |
Relationship to Change | Minimizes unnecessary variation | Initiates and guides change |
Source of Authority | Formal position and organizational role | Influence, credibility, and followership |
Success Measure | Efficiency, reliability, consistency | Commitment, adaptation, transformation |
View of Risk | Reduce and manage risk | Accept calculated risk for future gains |
Communication Style | Instructions, coordination, monitoring | Inspiration, persuasion, meaning-making |
Primary Resource Managed | Tasks, budgets, schedules, assets | Human energy, attention, commitment |
Organizational Outcome | Stability and operational effectiveness | Renewal and strategic effectiveness |
The classic example is combat leadership in a small team and bureaucratic management of the whole army, navy or air force. In combat, leadership is not so much exercised by the leader as assented to by the followers. In other words, you might say leaders are made by their followers.
Managers and executives, on the other hand, never are really made by their followers. They hold positions or offices that confer authority. Bureaucratic authority, the holding of an office, is not the same thing as leadership.
With the caveat that the balance could well be different in a fast-moving Internet business compared to a factory, a classic statement might be that “the manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire and motivate.”
The degree of predictability and time frames often dictate when management is key and when leadership is more important. Highly-predictable scenarios do not require leadership.
On the other hand, any institution that expects to last over multiple human lifetimes is going to rely on management rather than leadership, for the most part, as it is necessary to create stable structures over long periods of time.
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