Is being a leader more important?
Which is more important, a manager or a leader?
I think both are qualities needed and to determine which is needed most at any given time depends on the circumstances. For a well seasoned team the need to manage is probably less important that to lead; however for a team with newer or less experienced members a manager will probably be more important.
Great thought, Donald. You are so right that it depends on the situation and the people. The ability to "read" and consider the big picture is critical along with having the skills to deliver in both roles. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
Being a good leader may not be more important than being a manager, but to be a good manager, leadership is essential. People will do a job when managed. People will excel at their job when inspired.
Very well said, Lynn! Yes, you need both managemement and leadreship skills to be most successful!
I think it is important to be both a manager and a leader. For example, good leadership skills are necessary when launching a new initiative in order to get all involved on board and behind it. After that is achieved good managerial skills are necessary to navigate the initiative to success. So I don't really think one is more important than the other. For true success both skills are needed.
You've hit the nail on the head, James! Both skill sets are essential to success ALONG with the ability to know when to use them. It appears you have that part figured out too. Great work!
After reviewing the material, it is truly vital that one exemplifies qualities of both a leader and manager in order to be successful. One is not more important than the other. The leader demonstrates the long-term, has the future in mind at all times, and looks to make an impact on the people and world around them. A manager must comprehend that vision, and be swift to make it happen through delegating a support staff, support material, and a timeframe for success.
Great points Leigh. You are right! It is helpful to have both qualities in order to be successful in a position. I'm curious, what could someone do if they are not fully skilled in leadership?
Honestly, i feel that leaders are self-groomed. I mean through the natural order of trial and error, we learn, but grow from our experiences good or bad. From the situations that we successfully make it through, our surroundings also aide in the grooming of our leadership skills. I don't think anyone knows exatly when they're ready to be a leader. Leadership is how you react when things don't go your way. When problems get heavy, a leader doesn't run away, they jump in head first and get deeper into them. At that point, whether an individual is ready or not, those leadership skills already shine through.
Great awareness and insight, Leigh! It sounds like you look at the situation and how a person reacts to the situation to determine how they acquire their leadership skills. I also hear you saying that a person's various experiences (good or bad) can help develop leadership traits. Have you ever experienced a time when the leader jumped into deal with a problem and their leadership skills did not come through? What was the outcome and how might you approach it differently because of the experience?
I think both skills are important, however I feel being a leader is somewhat more important than being a manager.
Managers tend to operate strictly "by the book" and are reluctant to make exceptions and changes to policy. Leaders are able to see the "big picture" and adapt policy when warranted by the situation.
Thanks for sharing Laura. If someone is more of the manager type, what could they do to gain more leadership skills?
Learn to listen to their teams, to gain an understanding of how to inspire and guide. A manager wanting to gain leadership skills should focus on serving the team through encouragement and giving ownership to the team.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the group, Laura. Listening to truly understand another individual is critical for many situations involving leadership and managment. Great insight.
I think the two are equally important in different ways, and often at different times. Leadership is required to create a path forward that will be sustainable and satisfies the needs of a company. Management is the procedural necessity to achieve this. Without the micro, the macro cannot be accomplished.
I agree that leaders emerge through personality traits applied to their circumstances. Many people respond differently in adverse situations, leaders see the long-term take away and use this to forge ahead, or even spot stagnation when the status quo works for now but is yielding less and less benefit over time. I think transcending current surroundings, situations, and even staff to see a bigger picture is a leadership trait harder to quantify than most, and the ability to do this is often a unique individual perspective.
Well said, Brian. All of the traits that you have discussed here are characteristics that we see in many leaders, especially those that excel in their positions. Having the ability to see beyond the current situation and reframe the experience to forge ahead can certainly be attributed to the inidividual's unique perspective. What might you do to develop this skill in future leaders?
Shannon Gormley
brian,
Thanks for sharing your insights. You make excellent points regarding the importance of both leadership and management for the organization.
Shannon Gormley
A manager is one who knows the art of getting work done through employees and must possess the qualities like interpersonal skills,act as resource allocator,a decison maker,a problem solver , a liaison and most importantly a figurehead or in more popular terms a leader. That means very clearly that manager is a much broader term and therefore to be an affective leader is a prerequisite to be a good manager. In fact being a leader is the tip of the iceberg called a manager. Hence all managers have to be good leaders but all good leaders may not always be good managers. Today we need approachable mangers who can get work done through people by being in close coordination with them,hence an approachable leader is one who can get followers working just because they want to do it and not for any other reason. Only then it can be called effective leadership and a manager does exactly that. I feel one definitely needs to be an effective leader to be an effective manager. Therefore I believe that it is more important to be a effective leader.
