If you promote a person who is a good manager, after a year your current systems and processes will be working very well. If you promote a person who is a good leader, after a year you will have different system and processes.
- Managers preserve the status quo; Leaders strive for change.
- Managers focus on efficiencies; Leaders focus on effectiveness.
- Managers concentrate more on short-term; Leaders think more about long-term.
- Managers are cautious; Leaders take risks.
- Managers try to make things better; Leaders strive to create better things.
- Managers make the trains run on time; Leaders look for alternative transportation systems.
The difference between a manager and a leader has long been a topic of discussion. Typically, there is a greater need for managerial skills at front-line administrative positions and a greater need for leader skills at upper level positions.
Dr. Gerald Graham is the R.P. Clinton Distinguished Professor of Management at Wichita State University, and has received the Kansas Regents’ “Excellence in Teaching Award.” A renowned writer, Dr. Graham has authored four textbooks, titled, “Management: The Individual, The Organization, The Process”, “Business: The Process of Enterprise”, “Understanding Human Relations”, and “The World of Business.”
