Managers vs. Leaders: Is There a Difference?
What comes to mind when you think about a great manager? What about a great leader? Are they different in your mind? Are they synonymous?
Last month, I spoke to VeryWell Mind about my thoughts on Managers vs. Leaders in the workplace. To me, they’re different and there’s a critical need for both in every organization. I like to think about leaders as owners of the “why?” and managers as owners of the “how?”.
"If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities."
—Maya Angelou
The best leaders convince their teams to adopt a version of reality that is completely different than anything they could have imagined — a fantasy. Leadership inspires teams to go above and beyond, to achieve, to be better versions of themselves. To think big. To go big. Some leaders are also great managers and they can operate on two planes: creating a new vision for what’s possible while also managing the critical details involved in steering the team there. This is a unique skillset. When a single person doesn’t have both, strong managers are critical.
Managers chart the course, they lead teams down the right path towards those big outcomes. They assign the right players to the team based on their skillsets, they schedule the work, they check the quality of the work, they manage deadlines, they track leading indicators that are predictive of success, and more.
Why does this matter?
Leaders and managers are a critical part of the employee experience. To take it a bit further, managers matter but leaders swing pendulums. According to CultureAmp: when employees were asked about their commitment to stay at their employer, only 38% of those who had a great manager and a poor leader expressed an intention to stay. Contrast that with a staggering 60% of employees who expressed a commitment to stay, even though they had a poor manager but had a great leader! This statistic underscores the importance of nurturing effective leadership within organizations, as it can make all the difference in fostering a positive and supportive work environment.
If you’re seeing yourself in some of the above — GREAT! If you’re reading this and thinking that you either need to strengthen your managerial or leadership skills — GREAT! Life is about learning and growing and if you’re here, development must be your jam. Read on.
How to become a strong leader
So what are some of the high impact areas you should focus on if you want to become a top right quadrant (read: excellent) leader? Here are my practical tips:
Lead with Purpose: Great leaders are driven by a clear sense of purpose and vision and sharing those things with their teams. So, you probably guessed it — take time to reflect on your values and goals and then articulate a compelling vision that you are sure will resonate with your team members. The second part is important. Many leaders can conjure up talking points that look good to executives or the board, but in order to inspire your teams, you need to craft a vision that appeals to their unique motivations. Know your audience. By aligning your actions with a higher purpose, you’ll inspire your team to rally behind your shared vision for greatness.
Be Emotionally Intelligent: Effective leadership is not just about making strategic decisions; it’s also about 🎶 vibes 🎶. Yes, I said it. I have never heard a leader who is emotionally intelligent/”good with people” dismiss the importance of EQ. Sit with that. If being emotionally intelligent doesn’t come naturally to you, pushing yourself to improve in that area might feel hard and like a waste of time when “the thing that matters most is results”. And if you’ve ever said those words, remind yourself that you work with people and not robots, so people and all of their varied and unique feelings do matter. At some point, you’ve probably wanted your feelings to matter at work too and that’s okay!
Here are some ways to improve your emotional intelligence: practice active listening to your team members, try to empathize with their concerns, and provide support and encouragement, when they need it. Improving your emotional intelligence is about fostering a culture of trust and mutual respect, which creates an environment where everyone on your team feels valued and empowered to contribute their best.
Foster Collaboration: You can’t be an effective leader without collaboration. Start by encouraging open communication and collaboration within your team, leveraging the diverse perspectives and talents of your members to achieve your goals. Fostering collaboration sets an example for your team, that the collective contributions of the team are critical in achieving successful outcomes. A lesson that will serve them well throughout their careers.
Lead by Example: As a leader, your actions speak louder than words. The best leaders demonstrate integrity, accountability, and resilience. Integrity is probably the easiest to unpack — do what you say you’ll do and be honest. Let’s dig into why some leaders fail at creating cultures that center accountability and resilience. Ever work on a team where deadlines are constantly missed, there is no culture of learning, and the excuses for why the work wasn’t done seem to be more important than the goals? This is a low accountability culture. If you struggle with this, you have to get comfortable with separating the work from the individual, asking neutral questions (not just “why was this missed?”, but “what did learn?”, “what will you do differently next time?”, “what new deadline are you going to hold yourself accountable to?”, etc). You can shift this culture by welcoming mistakes (sorry, they’re going to happen!!), making failing a learning opportunity, and making the thrill of success downright exhilarating. In terms of resilience, have you ever worked on a seemingly high-performing team that can only get work done in perfect conditions and when any issue crops up they need your intervention? Guess what? This is a low resilience team. They need to know that challenges are a natural part of work and that they are expected to solve them independently, without you jumping in to fix it. Can they ask questions? Yes. Can you brainstorm with them? Yes. Should you insert yourself in every issue? No.
Empower Your Team Members: True leaders empower others to succeed. Be diligent about delegating tasks and responsibilities to your team members, giving them the autonomy and freedom to take ownership of their work. Don’t forget about holding them accountable and fostering a culture of resilience when doing so! Provide guidance and support as needed, but trust your team members to deliver results and make decisions autonomously.
What are your definitions of management and leadership?
Until next time!
About me
I’m Ashley, a Performance Coach & Leadership Consultant. I work with founders and HR leaders to implement high-quality leadership development programming - leading to increased retention, better engagement, and ultimately improved business outcomes. As a coach at Reworkit, I also work with individuals throughout their career journeys; helping them find meaning in their career journeys.
I love this work and chose this path because after spending a decade in tech, successfully navigating fast-paced work environment and climbing the corporate ladder — I realized that my passion is helping others do the same.
Shoot me a line at hello@workwithashleyr.com if you think we should be in touch.
Lead people, manage things is how I like to think about it.