Distinguishing elements between leaders and managers In today's world the terms "leaders" and "managers" are often interchanged and used to name people performing the same actions and having the same functions within the organization - therefore putting them on the same level. However, as John Cotter argues, each one has a very different set of functions - perhaps not always clearly defined within an organization, but nonetheless very distinct.Managers are coping with the complexity of the current situation and finding the best solutions for the given problems, meanwhile leaders cope and deal with change as a whole - in guards to environment, politics, global trends etc. Managers deal with the administrative part of Job, IEEE; budgeting, planning, organizing and delegating, meanwhile leaders take the initiative to provide a vision and establish direction the organization is heading towards.Managers are more focused on the short-term objectives and tackling the existing problems, whereas leaders see more of a "bigger picture" and look into the future and long term goals.
Managers control and regulate, organizing people, setting the structure and staffing of the organization ND leaders stimulate, inspire, and influence people and align them with the vision of the organization. Managers accept the existing conditions and follow the present state of affairs and improve performance, while leaders always look for innovations, challenge the circumstances and look for positive changes.Managers make sure that work is delegated properly and done as needed - leaders do not need to do this, as their motivation and inspiration makes people want to work and achieve better. I do not believe that leadership is an inborn quality - it can be learned, but not by taking courses and learning theory. It requires a lot of practice and relentless desire to succeed. Without determination, willingness and ability to change it is almost impossible to achieve.
At the same time, I think that transformational leadership cannot be learnt - it is highly improbable that an uncharismatic leader can (given enough time and experience) transform into a charismatic one. Having said that, a transactional leader can be as effective as a transformational one, Just using a bit different tools to motivate, lead and inspire people. A person can learn to become a leader - providing that he/she has enough determination to train himself with a instant focus on self-improvement - a never ending cycle of doing-checking- assessing-improving.To conclude: as much as we would agree that leadership CAN be learned over time and given enough experience - not everybody has the necessary drive and wish to be a leader.
In my view, being a successful leader and providing a clear vision and strategy is a little bit like a providing life-inspiration, beliefs and direction for people to follow. In order to do that effectively, one must sacrifice a large portion of one's personal life and literally live for the idea/ organization. Distinguishing Elements Between Leaders and Managers By polygon
