A manager is an employee of a company or an organization who is bestowed the responsibility of carrying out the four important functions of management – planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Most managers also tend to be leaders, but only if they adequately carry out the leadership responsibilities of management, which include communication, motivation, providing inspiration and guidance, and encouraging employees to rise to a higher level of productivity.
But not all managers are leaders! Some managers have poor leadership qualities, and employees follow orders from their managers because they are obligated to do so and not necessarily because they are influenced by the leader. The primary difference between management and leadership is that leaders do not necessarily hold or occupy a management position. Simply put, it is not necessary that a leader be an authoritative figure in the organization. A leader can be any regular employee.
Unlike managers, leaders are followed because of their personality and their beliefs. A leader invests personally into tasks and projects, and demonstrates a high level of passion for work, and takes a great deal of interest in the success of their followers, enabling them to reach their goals to satisfaction, which are not necessarily organizational goals.
