Managers versus Leaders

In the words of Abraham Zaleznik the crucial difference between managers and leaders in their respective commitments:

• A manager is concerned with how decisions get made and how communication flows.
• A leaders is concerned with what decisions get made and what he or she communicates.

In short, for the manager is is style over substance and process over reality. Managers are practical people. Leaders are more dramatic in style and unpredictable in behavior. They seem to overcome the conflict between order and chaos with an authority legitimized by personal magnetism and a commitment to their own undertakings and destinies.