Leader V/S Manager

So what is the difference between a manager and a leader? Which one are you? You need to first understand the difference between a leader and a manager before you determine which you are.

I just finished reading the motivating The Wizard of Ads by Roy H. William. The following story is from his book and it should help you determine if you’re a leader or a manager.

What Makes Alexander Great?

Alexander is a dreamer who inspires everyone around him with visions of grand possibilities. Always the first over the wall of an enemy city, Alex is wounded in the neck at the Granicus River, in the thigh at Issus, and in the shoulder at Gaza, but he never quits fighting, never quits shouting encouragement to his men. A broken leg in Turkistan and a pierced lung in India barely slow him down. Is it any wonder he’s never lost a battle?

Alex commits to memory his soldiers’ names and deeds, calling each by name when publicly extolling their exploits. He often sends men home to rest and spend time with their families. Is it any wonder they adore him?

In Alexander’s presence, common men become radioactive. An unstoppable natural leader, he conquers all the known world before he is thirty-three and is charging off to conquer the unknown world when he is overtaken by illness and dies.

The life of Alexander profoundly illustrates the difference between leadership and management. Possibly the greatest leader ever to stride the earth, Alexander is a lousy manager. His hatred of bureaucracy and his need for excitement prevent him from building a governmental machine of systems, accountabilities, and procedures. Consequently, his legendary empire disintegrates immediately upon his death.

Not once in the following fifteen hundred years will the Romans have a leader who can fill the shadow of Alexander the Great. Yet their system for management will hold the Roman Empire together decade after decade, century after century, even when grievously incompetent leaders impose amazingly stupid decisions on their people.

Not even the most brilliant manager can do the job of a natural leader, yet even more rarely will a strong leader be a consistent manager. Success is the result of having the right person in the right job at the right time. Are you a leader or a manager? Which does your company need right now? There is a time for revolution and a time for evolution. Which time is this?