Don’t Manage, Lead

Management and leadership. These two words are often used interchangeably, yet they mean entirely different things.

A manager is defined as a director, as someone who controls resources and expenditures while a leader is defined as a person who rules, guides or inspires others.

Managers are a reality in (pretty much) all of our worlds, these are the people who give us orders and direct our activities. You don’t always know why a manager is asking you to do things (and you may not even agree with what you’ve been asked to do) but you do know that based on your organizations hierarchy your supposed to follow their orders and do what they say.

Leaders are different. We all know leaders, however they may not be in a position of management. Leaders are the people who inspire us. They are the people that you do things for because you believe in them and their vision. Unlike with managers, you do things for leaders because you genuinely want to.

Some managers are leaders, but not all leaders are managers. You can find leaders in all sorts of different roles in your company. Leadership doesn’t generally come with the same perks as management, such as a fancy office or a quarterly bonus, but leaders are guaranteed something that managers aren’t - Respect.

Would you rather be known to your peers as a leader or as a manager?