People are often confused about the difference between leadership and management and use these terms interchangeably though it is not the case. Both the terms management and leadership represent different meaning and roles. Leaders and entrepreneurs were the driving forces behind creating companies few years ago, while managers were there to handle daily operations. Today, owing to our educational system which emphasizes on business management, there is a growing perception that management and leadership are synonymous, which is far from the truth.
Leaders, as the term conveys, lead a group or organisation, whereas managers manage the day-to-day operations. Both are often put under the same umbrella due to the trend of educational institutes offering courses like “business management,” which focus on both aspects.
Leadership vs management explained
People often get confused about while describing leadership vs. management. Leadership is a quality of influencing people, so that the objectives are attained willingly and enthusiastically. It is not exactly same as management, as leadership is one of the major element of management. Management is a discipline of managing things in the best possible manner. It is the art or skill of getting the work done through and with others. It can be found in all the fields, like education, hospitality, sports, offices etc.
One of the major difference between leadership and management, is management is for formal and organized group of people only, whereas leadership is for both formal and informal groups. To further comprehend the two concepts, let’s delve further on to the topic.
What is leadership?
Leadership is simply leading a group of people and inspiring them towards a certain goal. It is an interpersonal process, which involves influencing a person or a group to make strategic planning, decision-making. It is also about communication, relationship building, motivating and inspiring people, managing conflicts, and solving problems.
Leadership comprises of someone who can motivate people. A leader leads by example, inspires their team to perform better, and goes above and beyond for the organisation’s success.
It is not a lesson to be taught, but a quality, which is possessed by only a few numbers of people. The person who owns this quality is known as a leader. A leader is someone who has a large number of people following him, as their inspiration.
Leadership is an activity of guiding and directing people to work together in achieving the objectives. It requires a good vision of thinking across the boundaries.
What is management?
Management combines four terms, i.e. man+age+men+t (technique). So management is a technique used for dealing and managing persons of different age group, to work together for achieving a common objective. The person who is in charge of the activities of management in an organisation is known as Manager.
Management refers to the performance of pre-planned tasks and responsibilities using available resources. The primary goal of management is to achieve organisational goals effectively. It involves coordinating with different departments in an organisation. Good management works in tandem with good leadership.
Management can elevate to leadership by inspiring and motivating others, seeking new perspectives, and solving problems. A manager might help employees do their day-to-day tasks. However, a leader would encourage them to grow and develop new skills.
Key Differences Between Leadership and Management
The major difference between leadership and management the goals each follow. Management focuses on short-term objectives whereas leadership has long-term gaols. Though there are few major difference, let’s explore:
- Leadership is a virtue of leading people through encouraging them while management is a process of taking care of the activities in any organization.
- Leadership requires trust of followers while management needs control over the team.
- Leadership is all about influencing others while management is the quality of ruling.
- Leadership demands long-term vision while management has a short-range vision.
- Leadership brings change while management brings stability.
- Leadership establishes principles and guidelines while management implements policies and procedures.
As we can see, there is a clear difference between management and leadership, but cannot deny that the former cannot elevate to become the latter. However, there is no such thing that a manager can’t be a leader. Leadership is a constant learning process. One can also take courses in business and leadership to become the best leader that you can be.
