Leading vs. Managing: What’s the difference?

Summary: Leaders create vision and drive constructive change through relationships, mentorship and long-term thinking, while managers coordinate functions, establish order and address short-term needs through consistent execution of tasks and planning. Effective leadership requires complementing vision with strong management skills.

Often we hear leading and managing being used interchangeably, but are they actually the same? Turns out they are not.

At its core management’s purpose is to structure and coordinate various functions in an organization. Managing tends to be task-focused and often addresses short term needs and planning. An example of this would include writing a schedule to ensure your restaurant is staffed appropriately for each service or designing a system for how recipes are written and shared to ensure prep is consistent. Both of those focus on coordinating a function and establishing order, which is management.

Leadership, on the other hand, seeks constructive change for good. It is often relationship-focused, and leaders create vision with long-term impacts in mind. An example of this would include mentoring your team members so they gain skills and feel inspired to perform better at work, or considering how the system you designed for prep may or may not be sustainable over time. Both of these focus on guiding others while creating the best environment possible, a tenant of leadership.

While you can be a manager without being a leader, the best leaders practice good management skills like consistency, follow through, and planning.