One may assume that all managers are leaders, but that is not correct, since some of the managers do not exercise leadership, and some people lead without having any management positions. Therefore, there is a continuing controversy about the difference between leaders and managers. Leadership and management entail a unique set of activities or functions. While leaders and managers share some similarities because they both influence others by using specific powers to achieve certain goals, there are also some prominent differences. While, managers maintain a smoothly functioning workplace, leaders test the current position and encourage new functions, so they are looking for long-term goals. In today’s vigorous workplace, organizations, such as my company, need both effective management, and effective leadership for optimal success.
John Kotter felt that managers ensure that work gets done through controlling and problem solving, a very task oriented emphasis. Conversely, leaders motivate and inspire, having a people focus in getting work done. John Kotter has a simple but memorable definition – management is about managing complexity and leadership is about managing change.
Not everyone who holds a management title is a leader. There are many differences between leadership and management. John Kotter’s leadership vs. management theory discusses these differences. It tells us that a leader is someone who has followers, even when they do not necessarily have a title, whereas a manager has to use their title to get people to listen to them.
Everyone has had someone in their life that truly inspired them. When people describe someone they want to follow, it usually resonates with the leadership traits John Kotter identified. Kotter described leadership as fundamentally establishing direction and setting strategies. An example would be, a leader will focus on creating a vision, and excitement about that vision will encourage people to follow him or her.
Leadership is also about communicating effectively and motivating people without force. A true leader is someone who does not have to use title or power to get people to follow them. They will naturally have followers due to their vision and influence.
“Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action… Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.”
The fact is that leadership and management are both important, they are two distinctive systems of action, both are necessary as each seek to do different things.
There are some key differences between what leaders do and what managers do. I found this table below in my research that lists some of these distinctions. I found this to be quite profound.
Leadership Management
Strategic Tactical
Cope with Change Cope with Complexity
Focus on the Future Focus on the Present
People-Oriented Task-Oriented
Drives Change Drives Stability
Empowers People Directs People

Reference:
Journal of Management Policies and Practices. September 2014,
Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 71-82
Kotter, John P. John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business School Press, 2004.