Leadership vs Management: What’s the Real Difference in These Skills

The education system nowadays is wired towards business management courses which treats management and leadership both under the same category. In reality the case is the opposite. In this article we will shed light on the difference between leadership and management and the job responsibilities each role plays in the industry.

Defining Leadership

Leadership is the mere non-incremental change that is created as a result of having a specific vision through meticulous planning and strategy. Leadership skills involve workforce empowerment and quick decision-making in an organization to impact its success and growth. Leadership is not associated with titles, management, or job position, instead it is a motive directed towards the achievement of a common goal.

Leadership is a quality in a person to take initiative and put efforts into the system to achieve a vision. Leaders create a social influence to lead the people as one.

How is Management different from it?

One has to perform various tasks on a regular basis that are pre-planned and organized to be taken in practice in the workplace. This is what we consider as management. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are the roles responsible to be carried out by a manager. A manager is eligible to take up the role of a leader if he or she is capable of carrying out the responsibilities which involves communication, sourcing inspiration and guidance, and providing encouragement to the employees to strive for a higher rate of productivity and efficiency in a workplace environment.

Not all the managers can potentially land a position of a leader. A manager’s primary role is to make the organization meet the visions and goals. However, it does not include the creation of a system or initiative of how the organization with all the employees will achieve a particular goal. That is what a leader looks into. A manager is given the authority to promote, recruit, or reward the employees solely based on their behavior and performance in the work space.

Leadership vs Management

While the roles and responsibilities might be looking to overlap each other, learning about the characteristics of each job title will be able to make you understand the key differences that make them unique to each other. Some of the key differences are given as follows:

• Where managers are responsible to count the value generated, leaders set examples for the team members and subordinates to show them the way to create better value.
• Managers are set at a higher position than the leaders with entitled roles to recruit, promote, and reward any employee the role which a leader can not perform.
• Managers manage the work responsibilities and allot them to the employees to perform whereas, leaders are the influencers that show their subordinates the way to success.

Essential management skills

For a leader to influence the employees to strive for betterment, every department requires a manager that puts them through tasks and responsibilities in a sorted way that needs to be performed. Here are some essential management skills performed by a manager:

Transparent communication: Smooth and reflective communication skills empower a manager to make their employees understand better and convey the vision and mission of the organization properly. A good manager is also attuned to constructive criticism and feedback and works in order to set clear expectations for the employees making them easily adapt to the sudden changes and situations.

Efficient team building skills: Managers play their responsibilities by becoming a part of the team themselves and creating a healthy environment for their subordinates. A good manager always keeps that in mind and considers the best interest of the team as a whole to win their trust.

Adaptive time management skills: Key task of a manager is to organize and prioritize the responsibilities of every employee. Efficient management skill is to set adaptive schedules, realistic time frames, and prioritize tasks in a way that can be easily managed if an unfamiliar situation occurs.

Good decision-making: A manager must be skilled to make decisions that positively impact the workplace and must convey the decisions for a better understanding of the subordinates.

Problem solving skills: Critical thinking and problem solving is what makes a manager superior. Whether the disputes are personal, professional or any other technical difficulties, the issues must need to be addressed and resolved as soon as possible.

Emotional intelligence: A person with high self-awareness is always the right person to be in authority who will practice righteousness. High emotional intelligence makes a manager more empathetic and compassionate towards all the team members creating a trustful relationship.

What qualities are supposed to make a good leader?

Leader is not any special human being, rather it is a combination of qualities that make a person empowered to have a social influence and lead the crowd. Leaders take actions in such a way to make their team reach their desired goals and succeed. Where some leaders are gifted with such personality from the very beginning, anyone can adapt improving qualities in order to create a stronger impact. Given below are some good qualities of a leader.

Reliability and integrity: A good leader keeps up to their words, obeys promises, and comes out to be a reliable person to their team. With strong values and potent skills leaders empower and motivate you to work up to your full potential.

Creativity: A leader is an innovator who brainstorms and brings unique ideas to the table, while simultaneously encouraging all the team members to do the same.

Critical thinking and decisiveness: Quick decision making by jumping out of the comfort zone is a behavior that only a leader possesses, in such a way that makes everyone comfortable with the change. A leader is quick to manipulate plans and strategies in such a way that benefits the team.

Motivational mentoring: Due to being reliable a leader mentors the team members to drive the motivation positively through acknowledging and rewarding their achievements at every step.

Conclusion!

If you aspire to study in Australia then management and leadership learning can be a great course for you offering vast job opportunities and future growth. Check out the courses offered in business management and administration studies to learn more about it.