Are you managing or leading?

While the titles are often used interchangeably, managers and leaders play very different roles – and being good at one doesn’t automatically make you good at the other. Once you understand the two hats, you’ll know the right one to put on in every situation.

Management is a role, leadership, a state of being

Managers make up roughly one in every ten employees, and the title is only ever assigned.

Leadership has nothing to do with job titles; it’s a set of traits. Within an organisation, leaders are found at every level. They’re easy to spot, too – look for people others go to for advice and guidance.

Leaders inspire, managers execute

Where leaders are artists, managers are technicians.

Leaders are excellent influencers; they’re usually strong in strategy, coaching and storytelling – but the only requirement is the ability to inspire others towards a common vision or goal.

Managers oversee a team to deliver on that vision or goal. Their role is operational: Setting and conveying priorities, hiring and firing, and ensuring the right outputs are delivered on time and within budget. Good managers are organised, detail-focused, and tactical.

We need managers and leaders 

Great leaders become symbolic figures; without relying on individual relationships, they can unite and engage, empower, and motivate people. Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, and Nelson Mandela are some of the great empathetic leaders of the last century. The commonalities of this varied group perfectly define the label; they can inspire people to buy into a shared vision and give them the confidence to achieve it. 

While these household names hold a well-deserved spot in history, their success goes hand-in-hand with the managers who supported them. These people did the hard work of execution – organising groups of people to turn up at marches, building websites, and delivering pamphlets, petitions and protests. 

Managers can be leaders

Managers can be good leaders, but it usually means embracing a beginner’s mindset. Why? Organisations tend to overestimate the importance of technical skills in management roles and hire accordingly. However, a study of 10,000 leaders at Google found that technical ability ranked last among the top 8 traits employees identified as essential to leadership. 

Great managers overcome the belief they should already know how to lead and actively invest in developing their skills. They recognise that when there’s lots to do, motivating and coaching are much more effective than micromanagement. Active listening is more impactful than talking. And in a hybrid world, managers who rely on close supervision of people and work may find themselves struggling – one of the drivers of the return-to-office movement? 😉

How to show leadership at any level

Early on in your career? Shiver at the thought of managing people? That doesn’t stop you from being a great leader. We know there are as many leadership styles as people on the planet. That’s why Powrsuit focuses on self-leadership: Understanding who you are and how you want to show up as a leader – and taking responsibility for getting there. 

Regardless of your job title, here are some easy ways to flex your leadership muscles:

Look across, not within

Managers are specialists, but leaders are generalists. Make a habit of thinking outside your functional comfort zone – you should know where your work fits in the bigger picture. Bonus points if you try collaborating with people from other parts of the organisation. 

Navigate competing demands

Learn how to make decisions for the good of the whole organisation, not just your area. Managers often compete for budget and people, but leaders make trade-offs for the greater good. Next time you’re working on a project, consider the ultimate outcome and use that to guide your decisions. Bonus points if you share your decision-making ‘why’ with stakeholders.

Build buy-in

Leaders empower people to achieve results rather than focusing on their outputs. Can you succinctly communicate the strategy you’re working towards and build buy-in? Can you align it to the superpowers of the people you work alongside to engage them? Bonus points if your team can articulate what success looks like.