Manager vs Leader (Part 1)

A person I was coaching was stuck in the role of a Manager. She wanted to make the transition from being a Manager to being a Leader. However, she wanted a quick fix solution. And, this perturbing Manager versus Leader concept simplified. 

By the time we finished, her comment to me was:

“this entire coaching journey has been a transformational one for me”

Her excitement encouraged me to share some of those metaphors and insights with you. This article also provides Questions to ask, to Think like a Leader! If you need to understand the difference between a Manager and a Leader, or if you are aspiring to be a Leader, then this article is for you…

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This is a Tall building:

Someone who resides on the top floor will have a different view compared to someone who resides on the bottom floors, right? 

A Manager is like that someone near the bottom, where as a Leader is that someone at the top. What a leader can see the manager cannot, and similarly what a manager can see a leader cannot. For an organisation to run well, it needs both - Managers as well as Leaders.

For example, a leader can see a much broader picture, and will have a larger perspective. But he would be cut off from the details on the ground.

A manager on the other hand would have access to the ground reality, but may or may not see the big picture.

Therefore, if you are a manager aspiring to be a leader you need to and I am using a metaphor here, "Climb up the stairs”. 

You need to get yourself to a higher position from where you can see the big picture. 

Okay that sounds simple and good while using a metaphor. But how about the real world?

Well, did you notice that if you are a Manager then typically your focus would be on Yourself and Your Team, isn't it? And this is important as long as you are a Manager. 

However, if you are aspiring to be a Leader, then you need to be able to think beyond your silo. You need to consider a vast array of forces at play. What I mean is, you need to be able to understand the forces, the pressures, on your superior, the superior-of-superior, the top management, the board of directors, the clients, the industry, the market, the competitors; and by competitors I mean not just the old traditional competitors but also the smaller new disruptive startups who may have the potential to turn the tables over night! Can you see where this is coming from?

Some questions you can ask yourself to start thinking like a Leader are:

Q- What are the priorities of the Superior of my Superior?

Q- What is my Superior answerable for?

Q- What are the challenges faced by my Top Management? What are they concerned about?

Q- What are the competitors doing?

Q- What are the new unknown disruptors upto? What are they planning to do in the next few years?

Q- Is this work meaningful? Is my team finding this meaningful?

Q- How long can we sustain this business?

Q- Is it good for the people? Is it necessary?

Q- What may happen in the future?

Of course, the real world is far more complex than this, but my intention here is to provide simple examples to help clarify the difference effectively. 

I hope this helps.

Part 2 will explain one other difference- Empathy and the Neuroscience of empathy!

Author Harish Walavalkar is an International Coach Federation accredited Academy certified Executive Coach. He coaches people on Leadership, Executive Presence & Communication Skills, Emotional Intelligence, etc. He also coaches those looking for opportunities to find jobs eg. 'grab attention in interviews'.