Leading vs. Managing

Both Leaders and Managers are needed.  Often a combination of the two skill sets are needed to effectively handle a job function.  Project Managers routinely use both sets of skills.  This is one of the reasons why superior Project Managers are hard to find.  The balance between the skills and when to apply each skill requires excellent judgement.  Project Management is a key resource in the execution of your corporate or unit's Vision.  Senior management positions should always be held by people with a Leadership skill set.  Operations Managers can be more effective with an extensive Manager skill set.

Leading involves establishing direction.
Managing is about producing key results.

Here we have some descriptors for each:

LEADING PEOPLE	MANAGING PEOPLE
team-building	reporting
taking responsibility	monitoring
identifying the need for action	budgeting
having courage	measuring
consulting with team	applying rules and policies
giving responsibility to others	discipline
determining direction	running meetings
explaining decisions	interviewing
making painful decisions	recruiting
defining aims and objectives	counseling
being honest with people	coaching
developing strategy	problem-solving
keeping promises	decision-making
working alongside team members	mentoring
motivating others	negotiating
doing the right thing	selling and persuading
taking people with you	doing things right
developing successors	using systems
inspiring others	communicating instructions
resolving conflict	assessing performance
allowing the team to make mistakes	appraising people
taking responsibility for mistakes	getting people to do things
nurturing and growing people	formal team briefing
giving praise	responding to emails
thanking people	planning schedules
giving constructive feedback	delegating
accepting criticism and suggestions	reacting to requests
being determined	reviewing performance
acting with integrity	time management
listening	organizing resources
sharing vision with team members	implementing tactics