Are you a Manager or a Leader?

In my career I often see folks getting promoted to “Manager” and that is typically because they were a great operator. They were the best technician, or the best barista or the best sales person, but in the end their team was unhappy, or overall they didn’t achieve what they were supposed to so this person ultimately failed as a leader.

The biggest reason for this is that being a Manager and being a Leader are two totally different skill sets and the individual contributor who was promoted to Manager, was never trained as a leader.

In this chat, I’ll explore the different behaviors of a Manager vs a Leader.

Before we run through a side-by-side comparison, let’s talk for a second about who can be a leader. As I talked about before, many people see Managers are Leaders. I’ll submit that you can have leaders at any level in the organization. This will make more sense as we run through the side-by-side comparison. Also, as we run through this list, think about other leaders to see how these attributes align. Leaders such as the President of the United States, or the informal leader of your own social group. Thinking about how leaders behave in a different context will help you better grasp the ideas.

Purpose: Managers provide stability and predictability; Leaders drive change

Focus: Managers manage the work, Leaders lead people by inspiring and motivating

Vision: Managers look at short-term / today; Leaders look at long-term / Horizon

Direction: Managers follow existing direction / maintain status quo; Leaders provide new direction and change the norm

Values: Managers value results; Leaders value achievement

People: Managers view people as subordinates; Leaders view people as followers

Control: Managers exert formal influence; Leaders exhibit personal charm

Appeals to: Managers appeal to the head; Leaders appeal to the heart

Culture: Managers endorse the culture; Leaders shape the culture

Approach: Managers plan details around constraints; Leaders sets and leads direction

Decision Making: Managers make decisions; Leaders facilitate decision making

Rules: Managers makes the rules; Leaders break the rules

Action: Managers tend to be more reactive; Leaders tend to be more proactive

Risk: Managers minimize risk; Leaders take risk

Concerned: Managers are concerned about doing the thing right; Leaders are concerned about doing the right thing