When it comes to running a company, the question of “what are the differences between management and leadership?” is bound to come up. Learning about management is learning how to handle myriad problems at once and deal with the lot successfully.
On the other hand, leadership is more about dealing with problems objectively, resolving them the moment you encounter them. When you review the question “what are the differences between management and leadership?” – you are bound to assume “none.”
But when you take a closer look at these two terms, you will soon realize that there are various differences between being a manager and a leader. These dissimilarities appear small at the outset, but the method/ approach may prove pivotal to your organization. And that’s precisely why you need to take a closer look at these “nuances” to understand the critical differences between both further.
- Inspiration:
At the outset, leadership has more to do with inspiration than you would have assumed. Several leaders in the past have inspired their fellow citizens to follow them and to even replicate their words with actions.
Take, for example, Hitler and his political organization. Without his ability to influence the so-called extremist organization, the Nazi party = he would not have risen to power. What followed arose from that single person and his leadership role. That is just one example.
The other example would be that of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He inspired countless south Africans to burn their citizenship card and started a movement there. As a result, he inspired nearly all of India to follow suit and kickstarted the disobedience movement.
It eventually resulted in India gaining her freedom from the British in 1947. And that only goes on to show you that to become an effective leader, you must be able to inspire the masses with the right motivation.
As a manager, you are expected to communicate effectively with your colleagues and those who work under you. But you can inspire the rest of your office by setting yourself up as an example. For example, you should get in early and work until late in the evening. That should be a source of inspiration to many in your office, and they are bound to do the same.
- Trust:
You know the old saying, “trust is a double-edged sword.” That certainly is true when understanding the nuances between management and leadership.
As a leader, you are expected to enthuse the masses and even get them to trust you to the extent of following you to the ends of the earth. Pol pot and his mad regime in Cambodia are just examples of this. They misused trust, and it eventually destroyed them.
You are expected to inspire and motivate trust in others as a leader. This will ensure that all your commands and mandates are carried out immediately. While that may sound good, it nevertheless comes with its blowback. What happens if the leader is not of sound mind – as was the case with Stalin?
When it comes to the management, most managers instill a certain degree of trust in their employees. They seek to build their office relationships based on the same. But despite this trust, employees are not blinded by it altogether. They have the freedom and will to review how their office performs and will make their own decision.
- The objective:
You will find that management and leadership are all similar when it comes to goals and objectives. In fact, to a certain extent, they are the same. When it comes to being a leader in your organization or party, you will find that being an effective communicator helps greatly.
Similarly, it pays dividends to be an active listener, as it helps to endear others to your key objectives. Having a goal or objective in mind helps you influence others to seek the same objective. Hitler’s approach to the nazi party, establishing their key objectives or goals, laid the groundwork for the ‘final solution.
When it comes to companies, it is hard not to think of Google. When Google started, it was but a little company. But with the right vision and perfect objectives, it grew in leaps and bounds. Today, Google is the premier search engine, with good reason. The management at Google was able to enthuse its employees to work hard towards the same objectives of making their company a roaring success. And to this end, they have indeed succeeded.
These are some of the critical differences between management and leadership. This op-ed should give you a better idea of what it means to be a manager or a leader. After all, leading an organization or even managing day-to-day activities is a challenge. You can take a closer look at the 2022 midterm polls in the US; there can be no starker example of leadership gone awry other than Donald Trump!
