Leaders vs. Managers: The Cost of Mixing Them Up

Too many workplaces use “leader” and “manager” interchangeably — and it’s hurting their people and their culture. In this solo episode, Relationships at Work host Russel Lolacher explains the real difference between leadership and management and why misunderstanding the two leads to frustration, disengagement, and poor decision-making.

Russel explores how:

• Leadership focuses on people, growth, and purpose
• Management focuses on tasks, timelines, and resources
• Calling every manager a “leader” hides harmful behaviour
• Organizations weaken culture when they don’t define the roles clearly

You’ll also hear three concrete actions to help teams name, model, and develop leadership and management as distinct skill sets — so the workplace can run well and feel human.

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Transcript

Welcome back to Relationships At Work – A leadership podcast helping you build workplace connection, improve culture, and avoid blind spots. I’m your host Russel Lolacher

I’m a communications and leadership nerd with a couple of decades of experience and a heap of curiosity on how we can make the workplace better.

This mini-episode is a quick and valuable bit of information to help your mindset for the week ahead.

Inspired by our R@W Note Newsletter, I’m passing on to you…

Confusing Leadership with Management

Leadership and management are often confused for one another. And that confusion has been a huge hindrance for organizations trying to build ecosystems of strong leaders while also addressing the harm caused by ineffective ones.

I once heard a leader say the difference between leadership and management was just semantics. Someone needs a dictionary—first for “semantics,” and then to understand that there is a fundamental difference between the two. Definitions matter.

Leadership is about people—growth, motivation, retention, purpose.
Management is about things—goals, deliverables, time, resources.

To confuse the two is to do a disservice to both the organization and the people within it.

I had a conversation with a developer who had worked under the same boss for about two years. Over time, he grew exceedingly frustrated. His boss didn’t listen, didn’t provide the time or collaboration he needed, and offered no vision for the future of his role or the work they were doing. The boss was hyper-focused on short-term goals, day-to-day delivery, and checking things off his to-do list.

The developer was expecting his boss to be a leader. What he got was a manager. And yet, that boss was still referred to as a “leader” simply because of his position in the hierarchy. He was part of the “leadership team,” after all.

This is the problem. Organizations need both leaders and managers. But by blurring the line between the two, we allow bad leaders to hide in plain sight—because they’re decent managers. They hit deliverables, so they’re allowed to stay. No one questions the impact they’re actually having on people.

Once we clearly define leadership and management, we can finally start identifying what good and bad versions of each actually look like.

A good leader provides opportunities for their team to learn and grow. They connect the work to a sense of worth and purpose. They communicate regularly, transparently, and with vulnerability. They promote their team, but take accountability when things go wrong.

A bad leader, on the other hand, communicates only when they need something. They don’t create opportunities for their team to build skills or networks. Their focus is on pleasing their boss, not supporting their team. And when things go well, they take the credit. When things go wrong, they take none of the blame.

A good manager provides clear tasks and milestones. They assign work based on strengths, check in on progress, adjust resources when needed, and flag risks early to rework timelines. A bad manager does the opposite—vague priorities, micromanagement without direction, little to no check-ins, and a refusal to adjust when things change. If a risk threatens the original deliverable, it’s ignored.

The truth is, executives can be great managers without being leaders. And frontline staff can have no formal management experience and still be phenomenal leaders. These are not the same thing.

And when we confuse them, we damage the organization. People are treated like resources. Short-term goals are valued more than long-term culture. Performance is mistaken for engagement. No one builds the “why.” And managers are never taught how to lead.

Again, definitions matter.
And when we don’t define the difference, we open the door to real harm.

The Question: What can leaders do to ensure their teams and organizations understand the difference?

The Action(s):

• Model Both — But Name Them Out Loud- Don’t just do leadership and management — call them what they are when you’re doing them.“Right now, I’m managing the timeline — but leadership is making sure you all feel supported while we get there.” This creates clarity through example. It shows the team how both roles coexist and why both are necessary.
  ​
• Develop Both Skill Sets Separately - In training, performance reviews, and promotions — treat leadership and management as distinct competencies. “You're a strong manager — now let’s build your leadership muscle too.” This encourages growth beyond tasks and goals, toward people and purpose.
  • Leadership: Empathy, vision, coaching, trust-building
  • Management: Planning, execution, resource coordination
• Align Expectations Across the Org - Set the standard: managers aren’t automatically leaders — and leaders need more than just operational control. “We don't just promote high performers — we promote people who make others better.” Encourage execs, HR, and team leads to:
  • Update job descriptions
  • Separate leadership and management metrics
  • Promote based on influence, not just output

Management keeps the lights on. Leadership makes people want to stay. By consistently separating, modeling, and rewarding leadership and management as complementary but distinct, we build a workplace that runs well and feels human.