Many senior status employees have the word ‘manager’ in their title that implies a sense of responsibility and leadership.   Effective managers are also great leaders.  Just look at Richard Branson as an example, he has one of the most recognised personal brands in the world.

So this begs the question – what is the difference between a Manager and a Leader?

Here are HR Gurus top tips for being a great leader and effective manager.

Know your people.

A great leader connects to their employees as people, not just a job title or payroll number.  You know your employees strengths, development areas, goals, interests etc.  You have a mutual respect for each other in the workplace and you get the best out of your people by using their strengths and assigning work accordingly.

The greater good.

A great leader links their employees to the businesses goals.  Each employee understands how their role impacts the business.  Ideally each employee would have a personal development plan (PDP) with goals aligned to the overall business, department and their personal performance.  Remember these goals should be SMART.  S=specific, M=measurable, A=attainable, R=realistic and T=timey.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T find out what it means to me!

Great leaders understand they need the business to meet long term goals and therefore may not always be the most liked people.  Saying this, great leaders know how to manage their people and even though they may not always be liked, they are always respected.

There is no I in team.

A great leader does not shame employees for any mistakes made.  They wear that mistake on their own shoulders and encourage the team to do better next time.  A manager will generally point the finger and place blame on anyone but themselves.

Climbing the ladder.

Great leaders empower their people to achieve great things.  A great leader takes pride in their employee’s accomplishments and grows other great leaders.  Managers often feel threatened by employee’s achievement and will try to take credit for others work to make themselves look better.

Some other well know great Leaders are:

• Jeff Bezos, Amazon
• Anne Mulcahy, Xerox
• Larry Page, Google
• Howard Schultz, Starbucks

So what do you want to be?  A Leader or a Manager?  If you said Leader give HR Gurus a call on 1300 959 560 and find out more about our HR skills training on how to be a great Leader and effective Manager.