When we talk about leadership and management I would like to say that a manager cannot be a leader but a leader can be a manager. What do I mean by that? Well, it means that managers pretty much set a goal for the team to work towards,  and expect the team to achieve it. However, a leader goes beyond that. A leader makes the team identify themselves with the goal, work together with great team spirit and do their best for the goals cause. Everyone can develop the leadership mentality, it takes time and effort but it is possible.

According to the Organizational Behavior book by Dr. Hyacinth Burton there are six key traits associated with a leadership mentality, and they are crucial elements to be more effective in an organizational setting:

“Integrity, intelligence, extraversion, conscientious, open to experience and self-esteem.”

Not many managers have these same traits. Many managers do not feel a big need to apply integrity in the workplace, many do not even feel the happiness of being around people and working as a team. Usually managers are not very open to new experiences which makes them the opposite of a leader. Managers usually ask what employees can do for them instead of being willing to act like a real leader and be willing to serve.

According to Forbes magazine, one of the many differences between management and leadership that caught my attention to this subject is that:  

“Leaders are unique, managers copy, leaders take risks, managers control risk, leaders coach, managers direct.

When we think about those main topics from Forbes and also the Organizational Behavior book on the six key traits associated with leadership, we can clearly see what differentiates a manager from a leader. We understand why it takes time to become a leader, since a leader must create trust, build a good reputation, be admirable, and know what he is doing, that is why leaders are unique.

Many managers get so caught up with the task itself that they have ahead of them and they forget to understand that in order to do more, you have to be creative, and when managers do not do that, they end up being a copy of other managers

To be a leader you have to get out of your comfort zone, you have to strive for more, you have to take the risk and allow your subordinates to do things on their own after you have already instructed them on what their tasks are. That is why leaders take risks and managers control risk.

Great leaders make other leaders, they are not just satisfied with being a leader themselves, they want to make sure that they will have a subordinate that will replace them at the same level or even at a higher level than themselves. Usually managers do not think like that, they only want the task done and their subordinates do not get coaching to grow as high as them.

Therefore, a leader is much more effective than a manager because a leader is also a manager but a manager is not a leader.

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