Have you ever paused for a while to think of whether you are a leader-material or a manager-material? But, yes, it requires that you understand the subtle difference between the two!
So, how does a leader differ from a manager? Well, I like, and offer, practical definitions/observations, rather than purely theoretical ones that run up to hundreds of pages! Moreover, the difference mentioned below is purely and broadly based on human characteristics, attitudes, and mindsets.
The biggest, and most remarkable, difference is that leaders DON'T lead by concealing data/information/facts/esoteric-concepts from their followers. In fact, they reveal, and subsequently train, their followers on everything they could. Then, they “challenge” their followers to challenge their own preaching/teaching, driving the best out of all concerned, subsequently refining and building on the preaching even further. In other words, they level the playing ground, which could equally be used by all the stakeholders who are allowed to challenge and compete against themselves, albeit in healthy terms – perhaps the theory of genuine excellence prevails here. So, it is not surprising to witness that the best leads the cohort, and is widely highly regarded as a genuine leader, because s/he has the ability to inspire everyone else, including herself/himself!
But, sadly, how many such leaders do we have? Or, even the bigger question is, how many of us do want to be one of that kind?
Whereas, managers inherently are people who like to conceal data/information/facts/esoteric-concepts/know-how from their subordinates, and from the other stakeholders. They manage by hiding things, because doing so is what gives them importance, stability, cushion, fake respect, and eventually job security. If they reveal all the things they know, they might make themselves redundant, or might even make themselves completely useless, as they won’t have any further “value” to add to the teams they manage, or to the organizations they work for. Above all said and done, managers do have some genuine responsibilities, such as collecting work status, filling excel sheets, generalizing everything, firefighting, making things look complex, creating barriers, and, most importantly, "doing" performance appraisals. After all, organizations do have corporate social responsibilities for generating mass employment! Don't they?
Well, I am aware of the fact that I am being very strict in my evaluation here! But, that is the precise reason that I say it is very, very hard to find genuine leaders. And, on the other hand, that is equally the reason why most of us want to be managers – perhaps theory of convenience applies here!
Please note that there could be leaders who might officially be labeled as managers, and vice versa. You will find these two kinds in different skins! So, watch out!!
For further differences, there are millions of books on the topic out there waiting for your grab – so go and waste your time! :-)
