Leaders are managers but managers are not necessarily leaders.

A person who motivate & inspire a team can be described as a leader. (Northouse, 2013). Leaders focus on direction, align people, motivate & inspire. (Kotter, 2001) Managers are people who achieve goals by performing some key functions such as; planning & budgeting, organizing & staffing, problem solving & controlling. Leaders focus on direction, align people, motivate & inspire. (Kotter, 2001)

Difference between manager & the leader are shown in below grid.

Manager	Leader
Plan & budget	Set direction & develop the vision
Develop process steps & set timelines	Develop strategic plans & achieve the vision
Displays impersonal attitude about the vision and goals	Displays very passionate attitude about the vision and goals
Takes lower risk to solve problems	Takes higher risk to solve problems
Identifies & solve problems	Motivate the team to overcome the problem

Table I: Comparison of Management and Leadership Process Differences in the workplace (Kotterman, 2006)

According to above grid it is understandable that the leaders necessarily do what managers do but managers don’t do everything that leaders do. Further being a manager will not make someone a leader since manager is an appointed designation. But there are people who lead a crew without being appointed as a manager.

Management is part of leadership & leadership is a very similar process to management in many ways. (Northouse, 2013) Hence we can suggest that all the leaders play manager role but it is not necessary for a manager to be a leader.

References 

• Kotter, J. P., (2001), “What leaders really do?“, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 79 Issue 11, p.85- 96

• Kotterman, J., (2006), “Leadership vs Management: What’s the difference?”, Journal for Quality & Participation, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p.13-17

• Northouse, P. G. (2013) Leadership: Theory & Practice. 6th Edition, Thousand Oaks, Canada.