Is there a difference between a leader and a manager?
Some commentators will often separate the titles of leader and manager into two distinct roles.
It is argued that a leader is the person who inspires, guides and makes decisions that other people choose to follow or obey; Whereas a manager is someone who is responsible for managing others in a company or business and who controls resources and expenditures and achieves objectives through his/her subordinates.
In reality all leaders have to be managers and all successful managers need some leadership qualities. It is much easier for a hands-on and involved leader to inspire others. People respond more strongly to those who lead by example. “Do as I do, not just as I say!” Similarly a Manager who is unable to motivate and inspire his/her team, will never achieve the same loyalty, work commitment and performance level from his/her team as a manager who can expresses a real passion for the Organisation and its work.
So what makes a Manager a good leader? Here a few general guidelines:
Enthusiastic and committed: It is not good enough, in these difficult times, just to recruit a Manager based on qualifications or experience, it is now essential to look closer at the potential managers personality. We need to find Managers who will go the proverbial “extra mile” and will continue to be enthusiastic, even when times are tough.
Factual & Process Driven: They should focus on creating systematic processes and frameworks, founded on factual evidence and knowledge of the issues and the needs.
Stakeholder Engagement: They should interact well with all stakeholders, both internally and externally, demonstrating the desire to understand all related parties needs.
Clear and Concise: Ensuring that everyone in the team has a clear understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities, as well as the overall team goals and its importance in relation to the organisation as a whole. Helping people to understand the important impact that their individual role has on the entire organisation can be a very powerful motivational tool.
Team Management: All team members should be encouraged and supported and all desired outcomes should be discussed and agreed, prior to their introduction. Regular reviews and feedback is essential. People should be supported as individuals but also as an integral part of a larger team. This helps the individual to accept “ownership” of their individual responsibilities and how their performance and attitude affects the team as a whole and thus creates a strong “peer pressure” dynamic.
Openness: They should be open to ideas and criticism from within the team.
Team members should be encouraged to discuss problems in a non-judgmental way. Not only does this help to highlight problems but also encourages creativity.
Incentives: Develop incentives and sanctions to ensure that positive attitudes and
outcomes are reinforced and negative performance is discouraged. There are numerous ways to incentivise teams but sometimes just a “Well done” or “Thank you” can be enough to ensure well performing team member feels valued. In relation to discipline, clear rules and strong adherence to those rules help to prevent infringements and create team stability by reinforcing peoples’ psychological need for security and stability. When dealing with disciplinary issues, clarity and consistency are key:
Remember the 3 F’s : Friendly, Fair and Firm
Developmental: Ensure that the team members are given the opportunity to
develop, both in terms of skills and training and future career opportunities.
Performance Orientated: It is essential that Managers aim for success, that they
inspire and motivate their teams to outperform their targets and goals. It is human nature to what to be associated with winners and success is addictive!
Responsible: This seems obvious but there are many line managers who only accept responsibility when things go well and immediately finds someone in the team to blame when something goes wrong! In reality, a good leader and manager does just the opposite. When things go well the manager will credit the team and when things go wrong will accept personal responsibility to resolve the issues.
