Leadership Skills vs Management Skills

What are the differences between leadership skills vs management skills?

Leadership skills involve seeing beyond the present. Being able to envision what something can become even though the present looks entirely different.

On the other hand management skills require someone that can take that vision and turn it into reality.

Both skills are a very important element in making a business successful.

Let's take a look at some examples of how leadership skills vs management skills could be clearly defined.

~ The CEO of the company envisions a new product line and instructs his management team to implement it.

This means that they must be able to communicate their vision to those involved so that the vision can become reality.

The CEO is looking into the future of what they think it will take to keep their company competitive and moving in a profitable direction. This does not mean that they are sitting around gazing out a window hoping to dream up a brand new product line or idea. The CEO must have an understanding of their business and potentially what they are capable of producing. This includes everything from the financial condition of the company to the available manpower.

In this example of leadership skills vs management skills the CEO's job is not complete yet. Another part of a leader's role is to motivate the company to move in that direction. This means that they must be able to communicate their vision to those involved so that the vision can become reality. This takes a significant amount of leadership skill to accomplish. The bigger the vision the more leadership skills it will take.

If I want to put a team together to climb Mt. Everest it require every possible leadership skill I possess to make that happen.

As an example if I ask a group of people to climb a six foot ladder it will not take a significant amount of leadership skills. However, if I want to put a team together to climb Mt. Everest it require every possible leadership skill I possess to make that happen.

Now let's talk about the management team that must make the dream a reality. As we mentioned before leadership skills vs management skills are generally targeting the same goals, but play a different role in the process.

The management team will carry out the duties required to accomplish the vision. This may require ordering more products, hiring more staff, verifying codes and regulations, complying with safety standards, contacting vendors and sales representative, and so on. Management skills require an individual to be involved in the daily operation of the business. Different management skills are required for different types of businesses. Manager’s must know the business that they are managing; however, it does not always have to be that way for a leader. It generally helps but not always mandatory.

That is why you see a new CEO changing from one completely different type of business to another and still being successful.

I guess the best way to sum up the differences between leadership skills vs management skills is that leaders are forward thinkers and managers are in the present.

Thank you for visiting this page on Leadership Skills vs Management Skills - Return to the Home Page