Leading and Managing Differences

Leading and managing are often used as interchangeable terms however there are small noticeable differences. As a comparison there are slightly different responsibilities within the organizational framework, a leader is one who is capable of broadening the scope of his or her involvement in the well being of the organization as a whole. In other words a leader evaluates an organization's current processes and integrates pertinent decisions to fulfill futuristic obligations whereas managers manage organizational operations on an incremental basis from period to period or quarter to quarter depending on what his or her realm of management includes. Leaders are generally the ones who are responsible for delegating authority and establishing a management team to monitor various processes within the organization and a manager usually reports to a leaders superiority in most cases. A leader tends to make decisions that significantly impact an organization's lifecycle in competitive markets; managers on the other hand make immediate decisions about daily operations. Both entities (mangers and leaders) are responsible for planning, organizing, and strategic decision making, however they only differ in terms of planning the future of the organization whereas managers focal point of concern is productivity and overall performance within a specified time frame. Managers incur the daunting task of posing as HR (Human Resources) representatives in which case they are responsible for conducting the hiring and firing of employees and developing policies and procedures that lays the foundation of organizational codes of conduct and professional demeanor. Leaders, however aim to fulfill the organization's mission and objectives and works tenaciously to help the organization reach its goals. Nevertheless, organizations rely on mangers and leaders alike to assist in the process of change implementation and competitive strategies to adequately function as a competitor.