Do You Know the Difference Between Being a Manager and Being a Leader?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Caldwell]Barbara Caldwell
Are you a manager or a leader? Is your boss a manager or a leader? What’s the difference, and why is it important? Well there are most definitely differences between a manager and a leader, but they are not so exclusive that one person cannot embody both skill sets. Sometimes you or your boss may be called upon to use management skills, and at other times you are called upon to use leadership skills. It is important to know the difference, so that you can evaluate which situations call for which skill set.
Essentially, the manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leader’s job is to motivate and inspire. Many experienced authors have written about the differences, including Walter Bennis and Peter Drucker, to name just a couple. Here are some of the differences you may recognize:
• The manager administers, maintains, and focuses on systems and structure. The leader motivates, develops, and focuses on people
• The manager relies on control, has a short-range view, and asks how and when. The leader inspires trust, has a long-range perspective, and asks what and why.
• The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line, accepts the status quo, and imitates. The leader’s eye is on the horizon, challenges the status quo, and originates.
• The manager is the classic good soldier and always does things right. The leader is his or her own person, and does the right thing.
There are some situations where the roles of leader and manager can be separated, but in this day and age it is more prevalent that a person will be called upon to demonstrate both skills depending on the situation. The foreman of an industrial-era factory probably didn’t give much thought to who was buying the end product. His or her job was to follow orders, organize the work, assign the right people to the necessary tasks, coordinate the results, and ensure the job got done as ordered. The focus was on efficiency.
But in the 21st century economy, value comes increasingly from the knowledge of people – not only those you are working with but also those unseen people who ultimately buy your products and services. Workers look to their bosses to guide them not only in the day-to-day operations, but in helping them to define the purpose for which they are working. It is not good enough to be told what to do. People want to know why they are doing it. Companies are increasingly looking for people who can manage and motivate.
This motivation is not the motivation of “do it or you will lose your job.” It is the motivation of “let’s work together to make this company and your job the best we can possibly make it.” People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for them a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results.
The successful manager must have the skills to also lead people, so that he or she can get the most productivity using the specific strengths and knowledge of every individual.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-You-Know-the-Difference-Between-Being-a-Manager-and-Being-a-Leader?&id=6388680] Do You Know the Difference Between Being a Manager and Being a Leader?
