Leader?

What is a Leader?  (In other posts we will discuss a Lean Leader and Lean Leadership.)  Here we want to look at the idea of a Leader and make some comparisons to a Manager and why do we need both?  You can then take a look at how you perform your work function to see which position fits your style.

Definition of Leader: (from Dictionary.com)

 

lead·er/ˈlēdər/

Noun:	The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. A person followed by others.
Synonyms:	chief - head - conductor - guide - director - captain

The Leader is the focal point of any organization.  The person is responsible for a specific set of actionable items.  These items are generally different for leaders and managers.  Think about people you know... are they leaders or managers?  Do you want to be a leader or a manager?  Generally speaking there are many more managers than leaders and some people exibit characteristics of both.  Organizations need both skills to be successful.  Leaders do not function well as managers and managers are not able to lead as well as leaders.  So what are the characteristics of a leader?

Leaders are innovative, creative and collaborative.

See Leading vs. Managing for additional information.