Perhaps the greatest separation between management and leadership is that leaders do not have to hold a management position. That is, a person can become a leader without a formal title. People are willing to follow the leader because of who he is and what the leader stands for, not because they have to due to the authority bestowed onto them. The leader will show passion and personal investment in the success of his or her followers reaching their goals.
A leader has no formal, tangible power over their followers. Power is awarded to the leader on a temporary basis and is contingent upon the leader's ability to continue to motivate and inspire followership : managers have subordinates, while leaders have followers. Subordinates do not have a choice but to listen to the demands and wishes of their managers, but following is a voluntary choice for those who follow a leader.
Leadership is about effectiveness through trust, inspiration and people. Leaders often challenge the status quo that managers spend much of their time upholding to bring innovation to organizations. Leadership is visionary, change-savvy, creative, agile and adaptive. Managers are concerned with the bottom line, while leaders spend time looking at the horizon.
Saurabh Tyagi
PGP 2nd Year
IIM Shillong
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