Leader vs Manager

Leadership theories abound and sometimes disagree with each other. What many leaders seem to have in common is the ability to awaken primitive emotions in their staff.

Max Weber (German sociologist 1864-1920) used the term charisma to illustrate this strange influence that some leaders exert on co-workers; according to him “the leader has a certain personality quality of divine origin which elevates him above ordinary people.” The charismatic leader is sensitive to the environment and the needs of his/her staff, able to articulate a strategic vision, take risks and act in unconventional ways.

Abraham Zaleznik (psychoanalyst and professor at Harvard Business School) in his article “Managers and Leaders: are they different?” talks about “leaders who arouse strong feelings of identification and differentiation, of love and hate. Human relationships within structures dominated by a leader often appear turbulent, intense and sometimes disorganised. Such an atmosphere enhances individual motivation and often produces unexpected results.”

I think it is useful to consider how leadership and management differ and overlap. The leader has a capacity for vision; he/she manages to create a direction on which his staff can converge. He/she is innovative, persuasive, courageous and long-term oriented.

The manager, on the other hand, has an operational capacity; he/she directs and guides an organisation towards the goal set by the leader. He/she is attentive to the interests of the employees, team builder, participative.

Both must possess qualities such as being credible, communicative and an awareness builder. In this perspective, leaders make decisions on where the organisation should go, while managers can only decide on how to get there. In practice, the manager deals with day-to-day, routine decisions that cannot change the destiny or direction of an organisation. The leader, on the other hand, makes the strategic decisions that determine the future of the organisation.

However, this distinction is increasingly blurred in most contemporary organisational contexts where, rather than pitting the two figures against each other, attempts are made to find common ground and benefit from cross-contamination. Leadership roles can indeed benefit from a more concrete vision of the organisation. Managerial roles, on the other hand, can take a more long-term view of their work, better balancing the collective good with people’s individual needs.

This is why we are seeing more and more of the manager-leader who eloquently articulates an enticing vision of the future, sets ambitious but achievable goals, strives to align vision, strategy and action, and, in difficult situations, shows decisiveness and courage by analysing the competition and developing strategies to stay ahead. He/she strives to energise and inspire his people by listening, building trust, creating opportunities for learning and growth, embracing change and putting the interests of the organisation before his own.

From my point of view, the concept of leadership is a way of being that must take into account the historical period in which it manifests itself, the public and corporate context in which it is exercised, the socio-political scenario of the moment and the needs of the people we address and work with.