There are many difference between Leaders and Managers

5 Major Difference between Leaders and Managers.

On a close look it can be seen that many managers are not leaders, though successful in their field. Leaders lead from the front and managers believe in directing controlling and planning and improving the efficiency of the organization. A manager makes the subordinates to work, a leader work with the people. Management philosophers and thinkers have been interested in identifying the difference between a manager and a leader. Some leaders show management skills and some mangers show leadership skills.

It is now well established that there is difference between a manager and a leader. A leader leads from the front. His language will be like come let us do the work. On the other hand a manager believes in planning and coordinating the work. He uses management techniques to manage others. Followers voluntarily follow the leader. This may not be the case with managers. Subordinates is been asked to obey the instruction of the manager by virtue of his position. The subordinates may be obeying the manager on his leadership skills or may be just as it is part of their duty.

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It is also common the subordinates dislike the manager and still follows his action to save his or her job. A leader has his interest common to the followers. When the common interest is being identified, people voluntarily follow him. Rather than asking the people to work, a leader prefers to call them for work and they just follow the instructions of a leader. This important quality makes a big difference between the style of functioning of a manger and a leader.

Difference in working style

There is a big difference in the working style of a manager. A leader attracts the people with the charisma he is having.

He used to have an upper hand in technological knowledge than the workers. Leadership may not have any relevance with the functioning of the organization. On the other hand the management is different in its way of functioning. A manager keeps the organizational priority at his best. He has to do certain tasks as per the guidelines set by the organization. He then plans to achieve this by his people. Here the manager uses the modern management tools. He is interested in directing, planning and organizing. To make this effective he also uses modern management tools. A leader innovates and the manager administers.

Leadership is setting up vision and Direction and management is implementation of this. A leader set his vision and the followers follow his vision almost voluntarily. He seldom needs force to attract towards him in execution of his direction and vision. On the other hand the manager executes the vision of the organization. On his journey towards this he will also be using leadership skills to effectively manage his people. A manger with leadership skills can effectively manage the organization. There should be a force attracting the followers or a subordinate to the person directs them.

In case of leadership it is often the quality of the leader or his charisma that attracts the people to him. On the other hand the manager and the leader should be the two sides of the coin. Latest management trends show an inclination towards improving the leadership qualities of a manager. It is accepted that a manager should improve the output of the organization but it should be on the cost of the people working in the organization.

Directing Function

The directing function of the manager is making people ready to perform certain task or assigning certain task to the people.

This functional area of the manger has more to do with leadership. Once a task is to be performed, the concerned manager has to detail people or direct people to accomplish the task. This is mostly done in different ways by a manager and a leader. However both leader and a manager use the function of directing. Followers voluntarily work as per the direction where as manager needs to have something else for motivating the people to work. This may be different to different organization and also as per the management style it differs. Organizations have special structure and policies to motivate the people to work and managers are part of it.

In the field of emergency medical services the directing function of the manager has a lot to do with routine jobs. Things are to be done at high pace and many times immediate decisions are to be taken. The chances of going these decisions wrong are high. In this scenario subordinates should be motivated and encouraged to take decisions at time of emergency. Also the manager should be able to provide directions without any delay. His competence as a leader is very important. A leader comes forward to take the responsibility of the actions of his followers.

The followers also recognize this fact and there are more people willing to work under a leader under emergencies. This is what actually needed in an emergency service. At the same time the leader should be conversant with the procedures adopted in an emergency. A manager is a technical person and he is likely to be thorough in procedures and policies. Union of managerial qualities and leadership skills will be a good formula for emergency medical services.

Emotional Intelligence

Leaders are emotionally more intelligent than ordinary managers. A manager wants to be successful should have high emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and control one’s emotions and to understand the emotions of others. People having high emotional intelligence tend to be leaders. According to Terry, “a leader shows the way by his example. He is not a pusher; he pulls rather than pushes (Terry R G, 1988). A typical manager does not follow this style. He plans and direct people to get the work done. There is set of duties and responsibilities for each person in the organization. A manager ensures this is been done. He uses his control function to see things are going as per the schedule.

A manger often uses his control powers. In contrast a leader expects his subordinates to perform the way it is desired. For example if a staff is coming late to his duty. The typical manager may think of taking corrective action, where as a leader may be thinking to find out the reasons behind the late coming of the staff and may be willing to support that person. Similar actions make the follower emotionally attached to the leader and they keep the individual interest only next to the common goals In emergency medical service, emotional intelligence is a highly required quality of the person heading the operation.

A leader who is empathetic and understands the emotions of others can do a lot in getting people involved in the service. A leader should avoid knee jerk reactions. It is already said emotional intelligence makes the difference in actions of a manager and a leader. A manager who is low in emotional intelligence may follow only the rule book and this kind of attitude may lead to poor quality service especially in emergency medical service. It is good to be knowledgeable but at the same time the managers should understand the need of being empathetic to the subordinates and the customers.

Functions of management

Functions of management are Directing, Organizing, Planning, controlling and staffing. Professional managers are trained to perform these functions. Some people are on the view that Directing is the most important function of a manager. Many managers believe decision making is an important function of the manager. In the Emergency Medical Service Industry manager should be good at decision making. He will have to make decisions in seconds. A manger is trained to have these qualities. In management schools Case studies are used to impart the skills of decision making.

A leader has the quality of decision making and directing, a leader’s method of directing and decision making differ from that of a manager. Leaders decision are derived from that of his team members where as the managers decisions are learned decision and the decision the manger thinks to be good for the company. In respect to other function like controlling and planning a manger uses modern management tools. An ordinary leader may not know these tools for planning and controlling. Hence in these function a manger may have an upper hand in delivering the duties.

But if the manager has leadership skills then he can really outperform an ordinary manager. All leading management institutes have special curriculum to sharpen the leadership skills of the managers. It is also said it is important to become a leader then become a manager by learning management tools. Management is ‘managing men’ and a leader is expected to do this function well. Leadership involves in common interest and goal. By this common interest and goal a leader can motivate people to attain common goals.

Managers seek scientific methods to perform their task. Leaders are not interested in going for such tools and management techniques. They are good motivators.

Managers and Leaders Successful managers are efficient leaders.

Bill Gate is a successful leader as well as a good manager. There are other examples too. Most successful managers are not MBA holders rather they are good leaders. On a close view it can be understood that it is important to become a leader first than becoming a manager. Story of successful managers in all fields underlines this factor.

There are other differences in the styles of managers and leaders. A manager makes his decision and then sells his decision to his followers. Manger compares alternatives before making decisions. He asks his subordinates to question if they have any doubt. In case of a leader his decisions are more acceptable to the mass and that is the reason they follow the leader. Conclusion There is a difference between leadership and management. Managers are more concerned about planning, controlling, staffing and organizing.

Leaders are more concerned about directing and organizing people. They act more as a representative of the followers. People follow leaders voluntarily than by virtue of their position. Leaders should have high emotional intelligence. In Emergency Medical Service leadership qualities are more sought after than mere management skills. Managers with good leadership skills can produce best result. Successful business people are good leaders as well as good manager. To be successful in the long run a manager should have leadership skills.

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