Ronell Gabriel Igcasenza

BSEN21A | ENTR6152

Differences between a leader and a manager

Before we can differentiate a leader and a manager let us define first what is a leader and a manager.

Leader

A leader is a person who influences his followers to achieve a specified goal. He is a person with a vision
and inspires his followers in such a way that it becomes their vision. He helps them in making the
strategy to achieve the goal and possesses a good foresightedness along with the other qualities like-
motivating the subordinates, creating teams, innovation, developing trust among the stakeholders, etc.

A leader is required at all levels of the organization which acts as a representative of the organization.
He encourages the whole team to work together and supports them in accomplishing their tasks, as a
guide or a philosopher.

Manager

A manager is a person who manages the organization such that he is responsible for planning,
organization, direction, coordination and control. They are the ones who get their work done by the
employees through several ways and has the authority to hire or fire the employees. There are various
types of managers present in an organization such as top level managers, functional managers, project
manager, general manager.

The role of these managers depends on their nature of work like top level managers are held
responsible for the vision and mission of the organization, functional managers are responsible for
different areas of their work like marketing, sales, accounting, etc. Project managers take the
responsibility of accomplishing a certain project, and the role of a general manager is vivid i.e. the
various activities performed in the business are managed by him.

Differences between a leader and a manager

The difference between leader and manager can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

1. A leader influences his subordinate to achieve a specified goal, whereas a manager is a person
who manages the entire organization.
2. A leader possesses the quality of foresightedness while a manager has the intelligence.
3. A leader sets directions, but a manager plans details.
4. A manager takes decision while a leader facilitates it.
5. A leader and the manager is that a leader has followers while the manager has the employees.
 6. A manager avoids conflicts. On the contrary, a leader uses conflicts as an asset.
7. The manager uses transactional leadership style. As against this, transformational leadership
style is used by the leader.
8. Leaders promote change, but Managers react to the change.
9. A leader aligns people, while a manager organizes people.
10. A leader strives for doing the right things. Conversely, the manager strives for doing the right
things.
11. The leader focuses on people while a manager focuses on the Process and Procedure.
12. A leader aims at the growth and development of his teammates while a manager aims at
accomplishing the end results.

Qualities of a Leader

 Ability to inspire
 Vision
 Confidence
 Positive Attitude
 Good communication skills
 Open minded
 Enthusiastic

Qualities of a Manager

 Discipline
 Committed to work
 Confidence
 Effective Decision-Making
 Competence
 Patience
 Etiquette

After discussing a lot about the difference between a leader and a manager, we can conclude that both
are necessary for the organization success. A good leader and manager can help the organization, to
survive in the long run and compete with its competitors.

The role of a leader is positive, wherein he figures out the hidden talent in his followers and gives them
a proper guidance to achieve the goal. While the role of a manager is a little negative, wherein he
criticizes its employees just to make them best in their fields, but not to demoralize them.