Management vs. leadership

By: James M. Tobin, Edited by: Rebecca Munday

Published: April 16, 2025

While management and leadership overlap, the two concepts are distinct and often demand very different skill sets. Understanding the similarities and differences between managers and leaders can help you select the right professional development pathway that prepares you with the skills you'll need to succeed. Explore the topics in detail as you build an action plan for your career growth.

How are managers and leaders similar?

Dr. Angelica Gutierrez, a business professor at Loyola Marymount University, has a succinct answer to this question. Managers and leaders are similar in that they both may guide and support people, she states.

Digging into the manager vs. leader dichotomy, you'll find that both types of professionals occasionally need to draw on the skills of the other role. In other words, managers sometimes need to lead, and leaders sometimes need to manage.

For managers, leadership skills help keep team members focused, productive, and inspired to give their best efforts. For leaders, management skills help them delegate tasks and resources in ways that support their organizational vision.

Specific skills the two roles share include:

• Interpersonal communication
• Creative approaches to problem-solving
• Conflict management and resolution
• A solution-oriented mindset

How are managers and leaders different?

Leaders set an organization's agenda and vision, while managers focus on the day-to-day tasks that support those organizational goals. The following chart offers a high-level summary of the differences between the two roles:

Differential dynamics tend to unfold across five key domains:

Strategic vision

Organizational missions, values, and strategic visions are all set at the leadership level. As Dr. Gutierrez puts it, Leaders are responsible for promoting the company's vision and ensuring that it is aligned with its values.

Managers are entrusted with executing that strategic vision by tying their team's work back to those overarching values and goals. Managers are primarily responsible for ensuring that employees' behaviors and day-to-day operations are aligned with the company's vision, explains Dr. Gutierrez.

Motivation vs. facilitation

Motivation and facilitation are another defining aspect of the manager vs. leader dichotomy. While both need to be able to communicate effectively, it is more critical for leaders to be able to create the vision and inspire and motivate employees to further it, explains Dr. Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, managers more directly occupy the facilitator role by bridging the gap between the organization's vision and the everyday work that advances it. Managers need to be effective in communicating the company's vision, supervising employees, and ensuring that they have the resources necessary to execute that vision, Dr. Gutierrez says.

Company culture

While some may say that company culture comes from the bottom up, conventional views emphasize that it comes from the top down. According to the latter perspective, leaders are not only responsible for creating company culture — they must also embody it in visible ways that resonate with their employees.

Managers, meanwhile, consciously work to impart key values of the company culture into their work teams. If leaders set company culture at the macro level, managers ensure that culture remains highly present at the micro level.

Management qualities

Professionals who excel as managers have a well-developed ability to identify and tap into team strengths. Not only does this put team members in a strong position to succeed, but it also makes them more personally accountable for their contributions to the organization's goals.

Other important managerial qualities include:

• Effective time and resource management
• Active listening
• Adaptability
• Decisiveness

Leadership qualities

To become a good leader, it is imperative to develop various interpersonal skills, including communication, dispute resolution, empathy, and motivation, emphasizes Dr. Gutierrez. Some people naturally have these skills but for others, training in developing these skills may be necessary.

Professional development experts also emphasize the importance of:

• Integrity and leading by example
• Resilience
• Belief in oneself
• Emotional intelligence