10 Differences Between a Manager and a Leader

From the Personal Branding Blog

When you get promoted to the role of a manager, unfortunately you don’t automatically become a leader. Although these two words can be used interchangeably, they represent two completely different traits. Being a leader is much different than being a manager. There are important differences between the two and below you can find 10 of them.

• Managers set goals but leaders set the vision. It is the leader’s job to turn the vision into reality. Leaders think beyond what people are capable of and try to make everyone part of something bigger.
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• Managers usually think short term but leaders think long term. Leaders always look at the big picture and think about the next phase to set the direction towards the final goal.
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• Managers maintain the status quo; leaders are in favor of change. Leaders must be innovative and should encourage transformation in an organization. They always look for better ways to improve the processes of a business.
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• Managers don’t want to get out of their comfort zone, leaders take risks. Leaders are not afraid of trying out new things even though, they fail sometimes. Leaders don’t forget that failing is not the end but actually the beginning for a new path to success.
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• Managers are process focused but leaders are people focused. Leaders always think about their teams and give importance to their growth because a good leader knows that once his/her team grows, the business grows too.
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• Managers supervise their team but leaders coach them. Leaders don’t micromanage their team but instead guide them towards the vision when necessary.
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• Managers are authoritative but leaders are charismatic. Leaders earn the respect of others with their charisma and make others follow them. That is why leaders have fans and managers have employees.
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• Managers assign tasks but leaders encourage ideas. Leaders want the involvement of the whole team to the process and like to brainstorm new ideas or encourages people to always raise their opinions, if they get a better way of doing things.
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• Managers are controllers and think with their brains but leaders are passionate and think with their hearts too alongside their brains. Leaders know the importance of the gut feeling and believe in their sixth senses.
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• Managers do things right but leaders do the right thing. If leaders need to break and set new rules for a business, then, they don’t hesitate of doing it because leaders are open to change.

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