Being responsible for employees is not an easy task, there are a lot of elements to balance, not only with work, but social responsibility, the working environment, and employee welfare. There is a difference between leadership and management, and whilst you can still be a leader and a manager, it’s important to recognise that these roles are not the same – and require different approaches and thinking in order to fully benefit from.
What are the Basic Differences Between Leadership and Management?
Fundamentally, leadership is about creation and growth – a good leader will:
- create a vision for their company
- inspire positive change
- encourage their team to follow their ideas
- embrace feedback and new ideas
- understand the difference between wants and needs – and develop ideas accordingly.
Managers are focused on the structure and delivery of ideas and strategy, they are responsible for assigning the right people to the right jobs, and ensuring the work is completed.
A good manager will:
- execute the company vision
- react appropriately to changes in direction or focus
- structure teams and work strategically
- identify and minimise weaknesses
- create the ability to collect feedback and deliver it
- understand their team and use their skills appropriately.
Leadership is about inspiration and motivation, whereas management is about execution and delivery.
Do You Need to Have Leaders and Managers? Can You Do Without One or the Other?
In modern business environments, where remote working and self-managed or organised teams are becoming more popular, there are companies that are structuring themselves to do without anyone in a leadership position, this is especially common in the Tech sector, where tasks are carefully mapped out and strategic workflows developed.
By having everyone on the same footing in this environment, there is an expectation that everyone will pull their weight and comes to the task with comparable abilities. In this instance, not having a leader may seem like an advantage, but it relies heavily on effective management and robust reporting processes, and the stability of the team can be extremely fragile as there is no one to provide motivation.
Trying to run a business without management is possible, but exceptionally difficult to grow. Without someone organising the structure, ensuring tasks are being completed correctly and on time, and providing a conduit for dialogue, a business cannot be scaled or grow any larger than it already is.
In order to operate a truly successful company, one that isn’t reliant on teams motivating themselves, it is essential to have leaders and managers.