Keep in mind this paper was written before I understood that influence is a bad word in terms of leadership. I have expanded my studies since the writing of this paper.
I did a write up here on this with my expanded education:
Abstract
This paper will discuss the differences between a leader and a manager, where I will provide an argument either for or against the fact they are different constructs. Organizations have leaders and managers, while the two have similarities, they are worlds apart. A manager can be a leader, but a leader is not necessarily a manager. Wall Street Journal (2016), says that “The manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. . . [And] Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves” (WSJ).
The Codependency of Leadership and Management
Daft (2015), says, “a good way to think of the distinction between management and leadership is that management organizes the production and supply of fish to people, whereas leadership teaches and motivates people to fish” (p. 470). To be more technical, “A primary distinction between management and leadership is that management promotes stability and order within the existing organizational structure and systems . . . Leadership, on the other hand, promotes vision and change” (Daft, 2015, p. 471).
Management and leadership as two constructs
Managers and Leaders are the same construct
Leaders inspire purpose in people because they give them the vision, which in turn inspires them to change. Value comes from the knowledge of people, and “People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for them a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results” (WJS, 2016). Managers are tasked with keeping the workforce moving like cogs in a wheel, so “[Their task should be to] lead people. And the goal is to make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of every individual” (WSJ, 2016).
Leaders can have the title because someone gave it to them, but you are not a leader until you can inspire trust in others, and return that trust in trade. Managers work every day with people directly to gain their trust, give them direction, etc. No longer are the days that a manger just barks orders without caring why they were doing so, they need to know why they are directing those people, which in turn gives them vision and purpose; both qualities of a leader.
Managers and Leaders are different
A manager is a facsimile, while a leader is an original, often a manager is short sighted in their goals, but a leader see’s the true endgame for the organization. Leaders work to further develop the organization’s global reach, make sure the company reaches the vision they have created in their minds, etc., but “Leadership has very little to do with controlling, budgeting and so on. It has little overlap with assigning work and evaluating it” (Ryan, 2016). Managers focus on the machine, which keeps the organizational wheels going. Like a machine, it has parts, those parts change, so the machine is more important to the manager.
The main job of the leader is to see beyond the machine’s inner gears, and change the system if it is not working. The leader inspires people, and people are not machines, because “The machine can change whenever it makes sense to change it, even many times a day. Maybe your machine should change, or maybe it's time to junk the machine and invent something totally new” (Ryan, 2016).
The manager had deadlines, worries, and fears, which can be deadly to their team members, whereas a leader should think outside of their own head. A leader that exhibits fear will lose the trust of their followers. A manager can manage their team with loss of trust because they still have legitimate power, which is authority given to them, thus people often blindly obey. A leader adopting this style will ultimately lead anyone following them into ruin, destroy trust, faith, and all hope of ever having someone follow them again.
Summary
In conclusion: Before you can weigh either the structural differences between leadership and management, you must define what an effective leader is. I feel effective leadership is defined as: Someone who leads with humility and goodwill, puts others in front of themselves, leads by example, can influence others towards specific goals, and lastly, sometimes must do things that go against what they would want to do in an individual setting. Leadership and management has two different meanings, but “they are necessarily linked, and complementary. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves” (WSJ, 2016).
References:
Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2015). Understanding management (9th Ed., Pp. 470 - 471). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Ryan, L. (2016, March 27). Management Vs. Leadership: Five Ways They Are Different. Retrieved January 29, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/03/27/management-vs-leadership-five-ways-they-are-different/#607f6cfbfcc9
WSJ.com. (2016). What is the Difference Between Management and Leadership? Retrieved 2017, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-is-the-difference-between-management-and-leadership