“Are Managers Always Leaders?” being a manager is often a part of the Leader’s role but the Leader’s role goes far beyond the role of the manager. In a high performing organization, both roles are critical but it is important to distinguish the difference between those chartered to manage and the organization’s leaders.
Some of the guidelines include:
Leaders:
- Set clear goals, provide clear directions, support people as they need it, delegate and empower followers, give feedback on performance, have a flexible leadership style.
- Recognize the need to motivate, inspire, and empower their teams to achieve organizational goals
- Leaders inspire loyalty and are able to energize an organization
- Drive and impact strategy and vision – gaining commitment to it from others
Managers:
- Know how each layer of the system works and guide others to follow the direction of the leader.
- Focus on accomplishing their organization’s tasks and capturing metrics/milestones/ while documenting and communicating progress
- Lead an effort and implement the strategy
While they each fulfill different roles, ultimately both are critically important to an organization’s success!