Leader vs. Manager - What is the Difference?
Role of a leader:
A good leader:
Video of a leader: (Watch 0:22 - 1:38) This video shows Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games as the leader of the rebellion. This is a video that was shown to the citizens to convince them to join the rebellion. She is a leader because she influences and inspires the citizens to follow her. She demonstrates to them in this video that she is a trustworthy leader who is willing to fight for them (as she risks her own life to be there). Katniss is clearly focused on her goal, which is to overthrow the government in order to achieve freedom for the citizens. Lastly, she is innovative when determining a strategy to gain followers because she decides to film her video where the government has just caused a lot of damage, to show the citizens the severity of the situation.
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Role of a manager:
A good manager:
Video of an effective manager: This is a clip from the movie Despicable Me in which evil mastermind Gru assembles his minions and informs them of his upcoming plans. He demonstrates that he is a good manager because he is able to direct all of his hundreds of minions to gather and listen to him. He is also able to enforce rules, as he calmly identifies one minion's misbehaviour and instructs him to act properly. As excited as the minions get, Gru keeps them focused on his speech and the plan that he is revealing. Gru always treats the minions with respect and encourages them. Finally, Gru shows that he has good problem-solving skills when he decides to steal the moon after encountering a rival, possibly more evil villain.
Video of an ineffective manager: The new boss in this clip from the movie Horrible Bosses just inherited his father's company and is making irresponsible decisions during this scene where he speaks with a longtime employee. He is not acting like a good manager because his quick solutions to the company's problems have consequences which he has not considered. He is only focused on making/keeping money, but these decisions will affect the company's reputation to the public and the employees. He is not encouraging his employees and is instead forcing someone to fire another employee for an invalid reason just to save money. He also demonstrates poor communication skills when speaking with his employee.
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A manager should possess some of the characteristics of a leader because a good manager should influence, inspire, encourage, and mentor their team so that the team has a desire to improve and work hard. This is shown in the video of Gru managing the minions; he treats them kindly and they all see him as a role model, therefore they want to do whatever they can to help achieve the goal. However, some qualities of a leader may be unsuitable for a manager (depending on the situation) because a manager is often expected to follow standards given to them, whereas a leader tends to challenge standards and be more innovative. For example, the manager of a store should be a leader to the workers but must conform to the standards set by the head of the company or the store owner.
A leader does not necessarily need to be a manager, because they are not always in a position of authority where they need to control a team; anyone who inspires others to reach a goal and helps them to do so can be considered a leader. This is demonstrated in the video of Katniss Everdeen; although the rebels see her as a leader and inspiration, she is not the person with the most authority to make decisions and control the team. Additionally, even with full authority over the team, a leader does not always need to manage the team and constantly monitor them; for example, the C.E.O. of a company may be a leader to all of the workers but there are lower positions for people in-charge of managing those workers. In these situations, a leader may not need to have the organizational skills of a manager because someone else can have the role of the manager.
A leader does not necessarily need to be a manager, because they are not always in a position of authority where they need to control a team; anyone who inspires others to reach a goal and helps them to do so can be considered a leader. This is demonstrated in the video of Katniss Everdeen; although the rebels see her as a leader and inspiration, she is not the person with the most authority to make decisions and control the team. Additionally, even with full authority over the team, a leader does not always need to manage the team and constantly monitor them; for example, the C.E.O. of a company may be a leader to all of the workers but there are lower positions for people in-charge of managing those workers. In these situations, a leader may not need to have the organizational skills of a manager because someone else can have the role of the manager.