ROBERT KENNEDY OCHIENG

LEADERSHIP VERSUS MANAGEMENT

Management is the allocation of scarce resources against the organization’s goals while leadership
entails recruiting and converting people’s objectives to align to a common vision. Thus, the two
are different in that while leadership is about persuading, management can be thought of as
commanding. (Weathersby, 1995, p.5)

If we follow this definition, then it is entirely possible that one can be a manager and not a leader,
and, one can be a leader without being a strong manager, also, one can be both.

Process versus mission: Managers are mostly process oriented while leaders are mission oriented.
A manager is more concerned with operations running efficiently and in a controlled setting while
a leader works to achieve a goal/objective that has been set that would change status from current
to new.

Persuasion versus imposing: Leaders create relationships by persuading others to take up and
share in their vision and allowing people to thrive within that vision while managers usually
approach their relationship with their juniors by dictating requirements downstream with minimal
dialogue. It can also be said that while leaders sell ideals to their followers, managers command
using authority bestowed upon them by a higher command and may also rely on rules and policies
to put their point across.

Risk versus trust: Leaders accept the risk of allowing others to make their own decisions in an
organization setting while managers are risk averse and prefer to have the decisions made by
themselves as opposed to letting team members make their own decisions about how to carry on
with their tasks. In the end team members under a leader are allowed to own their decisions while
a manager prefers to own the decisions made on behalf of the team members. One result of this is
that in a leadership setting, followers are natured into leadership roles while a manager does not
afford his subordinates leeway to become managers/leaders.

Team engagement: One of the key attributes of leaders is that they focus on team members in
order to generate energy towards their goals both personal and professional while managers are
mostly focused on team output as opposed to individual factors that affect this output. As a result,
leaders are able to get a team to move towards a goal without using enforced methods such as
rewards and punishments which are the managers preferred tools of engagement.

Profession versus Character: There are professions that require a person to be either one or the
other or both and so at times an individual’s position may be determined as such. For instance:
most business based courses focus on leadership as an attribute necessary for one to carry out their
tasks while finance based courses require one to be more of a manager, political science students
are asked to be leaders while students focused on more technical professions such as those in
hospitality are asked to be better managers.

There are roles for both leaders and managers in an organization as both are equally important and
should be balanced in order to allow the organization to thrive. Finance based positions require a
person to have strong managerial suites while positions such as sales or even the CEO require a
person to have a lot of soft skills that allow them to be able to gather a following from both within
and outside the organization.

On an individual level, one may have a goal, a vision and not have be necessarily suited technically
to pursue it. They would then have to enlist the services of talented or trained managers to aid them
achieve such a goal by influencing their ambitions as well and inviting them to share that common
vision. These managers may or may not have leadership traits within them that they use to carry
out their tasks.

Internal versus external motivations: Most leaders have a desire from within to achieve something,
to change their situation and of those around them and are able to pass this motivation onto others
so that they also have an inner desire to work towards the same goals. Managers do not have the
ability to pass this desire onto others and therefore rely on hard power to carry out their roles.

Soft versus hard power: The other main differentiating factor between leaders and managers is
which form of power they lean on most to influence those that work under them. Leaders are found
to excel in soft power where they can engage and convert others onto their side while managers
do not have to convert, they only have to persuade you to carry out a task.

Being a manager versus being a leader is also tied to one’s personality and personal goals and
aspirations. A person may be individualistic and is driven by personal achievements and progress
with little regard for those around them while another can be driven by community and goals that
affect the ‘common good’ of his/her group.

This in conclusion it is possible that one can be a leader or a manager or both however this
capability greatly relies on a number of factors that include, nature, nurture and circumstance.

References
Ryan, L. (2016, March 27). Management Vs. Leadership: Five Ways They Are Different.
Retrievd December, 19th, 2016 From

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/03/27/management-vs-leadership-five-ways-they-
are-different/#1a06f7e6fcc9

Weathersby, G.B. (1995, March), Leadership vs Management. Management Review. Vol. 88

pp.5