Leadership vs. Management

The way leaders and managers motivate the people who follow them or work for them is the sole difference between leadership and management. They are not mutually exclusive in the sense someone who is a manager can be a leader and vice versa. According to Scott, “managers have subordinates unless their title is honorary and given as a mark of seniority, in which case the title is a misnomer and their power over others is other than formal authority.” On the other hand “leaders do not have subordinates at least not when they are leading.” (2009)

	Style	Focus	Goal
Managers	Authoritarian transactional style –Managers have authority over their subordinates. The management style is transactional in the sense that managers tell their subordinates what to do and the subordinates follow it since there is a reward they are promised.	Work – managers are subordinates themselves and they are paid by their bosses for doing what they are told. They are constrained by time and money therefore; pass on the work to their subordinates.	Comfort—The managers come from a stable and comfortable lifestyle. Since they are from such a background they try to avoid conflict and take minimal risk.
Leaders	Charismatic transformation style—Telling people to do something is not going to make them follow you. Instead leaders appeal to people by showing them that following them is the best option. The leadership style is transformational in the sense that they will not only get extrinsic benefits but also feel better about themselves. Leaders appeal to people in such a way that they start taking risk and crash into danger which they otherwise would not have.	People—Being charismatic does not always mean you have to have a loud personality. Being good with people, by giving credit to others and taking the blame on themselves is what great leaders do.	Risk—In contrast to managers, leaders seek risk, they are willing to fight battles and overcome any obstacles along their way. They would break rules to overcome the risk happily that other would avoid. Just like the lifestyle of managers reflects the way they rule, the lifestyle of leaders reflects that way they rule. For example, many leaders have gone through traumatic childhood or have had problems like dyslexia. This help them to have independent thinking and be indifferent of what the others think about them.

 “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

Gupta , Ashim. (2009, February 13). Leadership vs management. Retrieved from http://www.practical-management.com/Leadership-Development/Leadership-Vs-Management.html

Scott, A. (2006, November 21). Leadership vs. management. Retrieved from http://www.drgnyc.com/list_serve/Nov21_2006.htm