Leadership is not necessarily management. Nor is leadership synonymous with supervision. You may perform these functions in addition to leadership. However, the act of bearing the title of a manager, a supervisor, a director, a president, or a CEO does not inherently mean that you are a leader. Or you could be labeled as a bad leader. In contrast, you may be a “good leader” without having any title at all.
Let’s start with just the definition of these terms for a bit of perspective. Note that these are strictly definitions. I am not stating that the descriptions below encompass the whole of what you do if you have one of these titles. Most people are so much more than just the basics of their title!
The Definitions:
- Supervisor: one who supervises (to keep watch over, to observe and direct) a group or an activity
- You are ensuring things are getting done, you are monitoring people.
- Manager: one who is responsible for control or administration of people, activities, etc.
- You’re making sure things are going to plan and making corrections to alter the course.
- Director: one who is in charge, who manages or oversees affairs
- Now you’re making the tougher decisions. You’re setting a plan, you’re directing (controlling, aiming, ordering) how things will go for a group or a thing.
- President / CEO: From here there are a multitude of titles that reflect someone being the head of something (a variety of C-levels, VPs, EVPs, AVPs, etc.). The highest managerial levels that indicate someone is in charge. The people ultimately responsible.
Leader: one who leads
- Ok, so that’s a little obvious, and technically, all of the terms noted above lead. Technical definition of a leader:
“person who leads or commands a group or organization.” - But what is it to lead? And why do we put so much emphasis on this word?
To Lead or Not to Lead… That is not really a question
A leader is (among other things) someone who compels another along, someone who motivates or creates a reason for others to try. We can use “leader” to talk about someone who is coming in first at something, someone at the front of the pack, someone who is showing a particular way of doing things. When we think of “leadership” as a concept, we often think in these terms. It’s an amalgam of all of these things.
Consider various attributes in a leader that you would want to follow. You will find endless articles detailing the characteristics of good leaders and of various visionary leaders around the world. (You will also find our own list of desired leadership traits scattered throughout our site – including a list on our front page!) What I have frequently found is that leadership skills are personal qualities and philosophies – not necessarily job duties – and that they almost always exist in harmony with each other.
Balance is Key
- Tenacity is balanced with adaptability.
- Leaders don’t buckle in the face of adversity, and they fight to get where they want to go.
- But they also recognize when change is needed and that sometimes initial plans need to be revised.
- Supportive qualities are balanced with the ability to make unpopular decisions.
- Being supportive of your team does not necessarily mean everybody always gets what they want.
- Sometimes leaders must make hard business decisions that will make people unhappy.
- The positive dreamer is balanced with pragmatism.
- You can set high-reaching goals that motivate and inspire your team to excel.
- However, optimism does not replace realistic views. A leader must also be pragmatic on what can be achieved within timeframes and with the resources that can realistically be utilized.
- They balance clear communication with listening to ideas.
- Leaders are clear in communicating what they want to achieve, and where they envision the team going. They don’t leave teams guessing what was “meant’ and instead seek to be understood.
- But they also understand that they are not always the smartest person in the room. They listen to ideas from voices around the table.
These examples are by no means an exhaustive list! I could go on for quite some time about the key qualities we look for in a leader: integrity, motivation, commitment, humility, respect, etc. But you’re not here to just read a series of character trait words…
Management Skills
Management, by contrast, in our view is the set of skills and tactics utilized to achieve desired results. Many of these are the hard skills that are involved in people or project / process management. These include, but are not limited to, skills such as coaching, time management, goal setting, metrics and reporting, analytics, hiring, budgeting, and communication.
I have been asked which is more important – leadership or management. I believe that both have value, and neither is considered more important. Both sides are necessary within an organization to achieve success. You would not want to hire a car mechanic who understands the general theory of motorized vehicles but has never opened the hood of a car. Similarly, you need to have the knowledge and experience of managerial skills within your organization to effectively drive performance, while also having solid leadership skills to maintain culture and organizational cohesion. So, it is not a matter of one being “more important.” It is, however, key to note that just because you develop management skills (which are frequently demonstrated and taught through a variety of outlets) – you are not automatically a good leader.
Back to Leadership vs. Management
This belief that leadership is a collection of personal skills and characteristics is why I assert that leadership is not synonymous with management, and that anyone can be a leader regardless of title.
Think on the following two examples:
- A manager who refuses to let anyone outside of the department speak to their staff. The department is run by fear of being yelled at, mocked, or disciplined by the manager. When something goes wrong, the manager always finds someone to take the blame. If someone makes a mistake, it is soon known by the entire department. There is only one right way to do things, and it’s the manager’s way.
- Would you call this person a good leader?
- An analyst on a team helps to provide guidance to a newer member of the team. They know a handy Microsoft trick that saves time working on a spreadsheet, and they show others how to use it. When a junior team member has an idea that is a more effective way of working, the analyst takes time to discuss it with the junior member, and then encourages them to take their ideas to the department head.
- This analyst could be considered a leader, depending on how they approach the scenarios above, even though they are not a people manager.
Good leadership is not self-serving.
You lead for the betterment of others not for yourself.
How do you become a “good leader?”
There is no single answer to this that applies to all people and all scenarios. It is also not a one-time endeavor, and it takes time to build up the practices of leadership.
There are a few pointers I can give to help you get started. First, think back to the idea of balance and harmony I discussed earlier in this article. As you work on your goals and tactics, ensure you are maintaining balance. Additionally, I advocate the following tips as starting points for leaders everywhere.
- Be present and be seen. You cannot lead if your team barely knows you exist! Be in the “now” and engage with your team members. Take time to listen to their challenges and partner with them on the solutions.
- Be consistent and hold to your values. You need to demonstrate strong integrity for your team to trust and follow you. “Walk the talk” to show them that you follow through on the things that matter.
- Practice direct and transparent communication. Praise your team members for accomplishments. Don’t sweep problems under the rug. Be clear on expectations, and as transparent on situations as you can be. (Obviously, within reason for legal and regulatory related items!)
- Connect with your team. Understand who they are and what matters to them. People are so much more than just their jobs! People will react to how you make them feel much more than what you’ve asked them to do.
There is no single path to follow to become a leader within your organization. Leadership is an ongoing practice of behaviors and practices that helps you guide and motivate others. Throughout the topics and variety of material we supply on this site, we hope to help shed some light into ideas and practices that we believe fall under “good leadership.” Just don’t assume that because you’re “the boss” that you are a leader.
