Being a good manager requires training — organizations need to invest in that training both to ensure a pipeline of talent and to engage and retain managers, especially during this tight labor market.
Without that talent pool, organizations are challenged to achieve their goals and strategic objectives because employees aren’t getting the kind of direction — and leadership vision — they need to do their jobs effectively.
Too often, though, managers don’t really know how to manage, especially those new to the role. Some employers don’t recognize or understand the critical differences between managers and leaders.
Here we take a look at five differences between the two skills and the type of training managers need to ensure their effectiveness. These distinctions are not absolutes — on occasion leaders may have a foot in the “management” camp, while managers may have a foot in the “leadership” camp.
Leaders Create the Vision; Managers Work With Others to Achieve It
One of the most important roles of a leader is to clarify the vision for the organization — where is it going? Leaders lay out the future in ways that are compelling and propelling. Managers, in turn, take that vision and run with it. Their primary focus is on how to make that vision happen with and through the people they work with. This includes their direct reports as well as their colleagues across the organization.
Managers need to understand the organization’s vision, mission and strategic objectives. They then need to be trained, generally in what would be considered soft skills. Running people to meet and exceed targets is not as simple as just telling employees to do it. A team must understand what the overall goal is and how they can achieve it.
Leaders Focus Primarily on Strategy; Managers Focus Primarily on Operations
Because leaders are primarily future-focused, their day-to-date activities are strategic — they’re focused on creating an environment that is designed to achieve their vision. These strategies might include such things as deciding to become more engaged in the metaverse, focusing on new acquisitions, entering a new global market or initiating a public offering. Managers, on the other hand, are focused on daily operations, ensuring that the people they work with are moving forward appropriately and productively to accomplish the tasks that must be done to achieve corporate objectives.
Managers need to receive training on how to hold direct reports accountable for getting the work done as well as how to help them achieve these goals.
Leaders “Do” Less Than Managers
The further up the ladder an employee climbs, the less they actually “do” — and that’s okay. Frontline employees are the biggest “doers” in any organization — senior leaders “do” the least, at least in the traditional sense of doing. Of course, it’s unfair to say they do less than others; they operate on a different organizational level. Leaders are consensus builders, focused on creating new relationships and collaborations within and outside the business. Managers are focused on ensuring those who report to them are getting their work done.
Managers need to be trained in how to communicate effectively with staff and how to provide both positive and constructive feedback.
Leaders Have Less Day-to-Day Contact With Staff Than Managers
The contacts of leaders tend to be more with stakeholders outside headquarters — board members, partners, legislators, financiers. Their relationships within the organization are primarily limited to members of the senior leadership team. On the other hand, managers have more day-to-day contact with staff and a greater role in coaching, counseling and establishing an environment designed to help others get their work accomplished in the most time- and cost-effective manner. Managers, therefore, have the most direct influence on the people they are responsible for.
Managers must be effective communicators. The ability to communicate effectively shouldn’t be assumed. Managers need training in effective communication practices and how their actions impact employee performance.
Leaders Look To the Future; Managers Focus More on “The Now”
Great leaders are planners — their thought is given primarily to what will be. They will be concerned with how metrics are used to judge success. But they will be most focused on how the company needs to grow, where it goes next to remain relevant and successful. Managers are focused more on the now — meeting current business requirements by effectively managing the people and resources they are responsible for.
It is interesting to note that, despite the significant differences in their roles, leaders and managers generally need to possess the same skills and competencies — they just use them in different ways. The Corporate Finance Institute, for example, has identified seven leadership traits. Leaders, they say, are effective communicators, accountable and responsible, long-term thinkers, self-motivated, confident, people-oriented and emotionally stable.
With the exception of “long-term thinker,” each of the other traits are also critical for managers to possess. How they exercise those traits in practice, though, will vary in the ways identified earlier. Importantly, managers need to have training and support to ensure they are able to achieve desired results through their own actions and through their direct reports.
While leaders and managers may sometimes operate outside the pure scope of what their roles typically entail, most of their time will be spent on the contributions only they can most effectively bring to the business.
Leaders lead and managers manage. It’s as simple and sometimes as perplexing as that.
