Leader vs Manager

Explain how a person can be both a leader and manager, why communicating a clear vision is important for communication leaders, and how fear and power are interconnected in leadership communication.

I have learned much from reading Denning (2007) and Black (2007) and considering how what they said related to my personal experience. From this I have developed my own definitions of a leader and a manager. A person can be either a leader or a manager or, rarely and in the best situations, they are both. A leader is someone who inspires their co-workers. A manager is someone who drives coworkers and enforces established rules without question. A leader works for change and believes that it can always be better. A manager just maintains the status quo. A leader seeks approval from coworkers and helps and support them.

A person who is a leader but not yet a manager has to be able to convince a higher up to promote them. This should be easy if you have a clear vision. A clear vision is important because without it you are just a manager. Without clarity, you will not be able to achieve the goal. It is easier to get buy in, or support from your coworkers, if you can articulate why it benefits them (Denning, 2007).

What Cathie Black (2007) implies is that a good leader uses their own personal fear as motivation to reach their vision. A bad leader uses the fear of their co-workers to force them to work towards the leaders vision. Good leadership means inspiring others to use their power toward a shared vision.