Leader or manager?

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We are facing a complicated question in an instant when we have to decide whether somebody is a leader or a manager.

This subject is neither easy nor trivial but is an important start to define what any leader should do. History insists on the fact that a manager is also a leader. Reality varies in this definition and clearly determines the difference between manager and leader because a leader comes to power from his/her descendants while a manager comes to power from his/her superior.

A manager needs for a successful management and leadership of his/her team to have a view from above, personal maturity, and enthusiasm to take the responsibility, decisiveness and also a wide range of expert, organizational and communication skills.

On the contrary, a manager that is also a leader encourages the energy of employees, encourages their self-confidence, and pulls forward with his/her personal commitment. He/she does not go “against” his/her colleagues and subordinates, means he/she is not “above” them but they work “together” and show the direction.

If we think about some truly important persons, such as Peron, Mussolini, Hitler or Churchill, all of them had something unique, special and unknown that we call “charisma”.

Charisma is a character that is indefinable. However, in contrast with intelligence or patience, it comes to the effect that people follow the one with charisma.

Every team has to have its leader because without him/her it only wanders blindly in a vicious spiral. If a sport team does not have its strong leader or loses the leader, its results rapidly decline and their success is far away.

To have a leader in every work team is even more important. It is really hard to reach set goals without him. It is quite common that managers do not see such a difference and they reach their goals using their formal power – authority that has been given to them. However, this strategy is very often shortsighted and, especially, does not work from a long-term point of view.

A leader is a model. If a leader is missing in any team, the strongest and most successful members leave the team within time to find their leader somewhere else or, perhaps, to become a leader themselves.

This question is hanged above every manager’s head as the sword of Damocles. Am I a manager or a leader? And how about you, have you already answered the question?


Article’s author:
Michal Kopřiva
TOP C Trainer and Executive