What is a Leader?
Prayer
Gospel Reading: John 15:9-11
Remain in my love, that your joy might be complete.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
What is a Leader?
A leader is the one in the charge, the person who convinces other people to follow.
Simple explorations of the question, “what is a leader?” include:
1. A leader is someone who inspires passion and motivation in followers.
2. A leader is someone with a vision and the path to realizing it.
3. A leader is someone who ensures their team has support and tools to achieve their goals.
A leader may be any of those things, but a good leader is all three.
An effective leader has a shared vision aligned with core values and understands what it will take to reach their team goals. They
inspire, manage, and support their teams to work creatively and confidently toward that shared vision.
A leader empowers their team members to embrace their own unique leadership qualities and act with
independently accountable passion. And they inspire and motivate their teams to maintain long-term progress and excitement
toward achieving their goals.
What Does a Leader Do?
As you can see, a leader has many responsibilities. But they tend to fall into the same three buckets:
• Coach
• Guide
• Inspire
What Does a Leader Do?
Coach
• A good leader strives to develop their employees and teams through coaching and mentoring. This can be through one-to-one
meetings and asynchronous touchpoints. And most of their coaching ladders up into supporting the overall goals of the
company.
• A great leader will balance both the goals of the employee with those of the organization. Making each individual’s
development a symbiotic relationship. Oftentimes the individual’s growth correlates with the company’s growth.
What Does a Leader Do?
Guide
• Alongside coaching, leaders also guide their employees. This comes through building and organizing teams, setting goals,
devising ways to achieve those goals, and leading employees through the process.
• A leader can guide employees through difficult conversations, for example, or various ways to solve problems.
What Does a Leader Do?
Inspire
• One undervalued role of a leader is to inspire. A great leader can leverage their storytelling, empathy, and communication skills
to inspire their employees and key stakeholders.
• Whether they are vouching for a direct report’s promotion, pushing back on a strategy, or managing a team who missed its
goals –– inspiring others is a large part of a leader’s role.
Characteristics of An Effective Leader
1. Ability to Influence Others
2. Transparency—to an Extent
3. Encourage Risk-Taking and Innovation
4. Integrity and Accountability
5. Act Decisively
6. Demonstrate Resilience
9 Differences between Leader and
Manager
1. Leaders create vision, Manager create goals.
2. Leaders are change agents, managers maintain the status quo.
3. Leaders are unique, managers copy.
4. Leaders take risks, managers control risk.
5. Leaders are in it for the long haul, managers think short-term.
6. Leaders grow personally, managers rely on existing, proven skills.
7. Leaders build relationships, managers build systems and processes.
8. Leaders coach, managers direct.
9. Leaders create fans, managers have employees.
9 Differences between Leader and
Manager
1. Leaders create vision, Manager create goals.
Leaders paint a picture of what they see as possible and inspire and engage their people in turning that vision into reality. They
think beyond what individuals do. They activate people to be part of something bigger. They know that high-functioning teams can
accomplish a lot more working together than individuals working autonomously. Managers focus on setting, measuring and
achieving goals. They control situations to reach or exceed their objectives.
2. Leaders are change agents, managers maintain the status quo.
Leaders are proud disrupters. Innovation is their mantra. They embrace change and know that even if things are working, there
could be a better way forward. And they understand and accept the fact that changes to the system often create waves. Managers
stick with what works, refining systems, structures and processes to make them better.
9 Differences between Leader and
Manager
3. Leaders are unique, managers copy.
Leaders are willing to be themselves. They are self-aware and work actively to build their unique and differentiated personal brand.
They are comfortable in their own shoes and willing to stand out. They’re authentic and transparent. Managers mimic the
competencies and behaviors they learn from others and adopt their leadership style rather than defining it.
4. Leaders take risks, managers control risk .
Leaders are willing to try new things even if they may fail miserably. They know that failure is often a step on the path to success.
Managers work to minimize risk. They seek to avoid or control problems rather than embracing them.
9 Differences between Leader and
Manager
5. Leaders are in it for the long haul, managers think short-term.
Leaders have intentionality. They do what they say they are going to do and stay motivated toward a big, often very distant goal.
They remain motivated without receiving regular rewards. Managers work on shorter-term goals, seeking more regular
acknowledgment or accolades.
6. Leaders grow personally, managers rely on existing, proven skills.
Leaders know if they aren’t learning something new every day, they aren’t standing still, they’re falling behind. They remain
curious and seek to remain relevant in an ever-changing world of work. They seek out people and information that will expand their
thinking. Managers often double down on what made them successful, perfecting existing skills and adopting proven behaviors.
9 Differences between Leader and
Manager
7. Leaders build relationships, managers build systems and processes.
Leaders focus on people – all the stakeholders they need to influence in order to realize their vision. They know who their
stakeholders are and spend most of their time with them. They build loyalty and trust by consistently delivering on their promise.
Managers focus on the structures necessary to set and achieve goals. They focus on the analytical and ensure systems are in
place to attain desired outcomes. They work with individuals and their goals and objectives.
8. Leaders coach, managers direct.
Leaders know that people who work for them have the answers or are able to find them. They see their people as competent and
are optimistic about their potential. They resist the temptation to tell their people what to do and how to do it. Managers assign
tasks and provide guidance on how to accomplish them.
9 Differences between Leader and
Manager
9. Leaders create fans, managers have employees.
Leaders have people who go beyond following them; their followers become their raving fans and fervent promoters – helping
them build their brand and achieve their goals. Their fans help them increase their visibility and credibility. Managers have staff
who follow directions and seek to please the boss.
What is Leadership?
Leadership is an action in which one person guides those around them to move from one point to another. The word stems from
the Old-English word lædan, which means to lead, bring, take, carry, guide, or conduct. Additionally, the Middle High German word
leiten, meaning “to lead, guide, travel, or to cause to go,” also influenced the development of the word “leadership.” In the early
1800s, people added the “-ship” aspect, which created a new word denoting a leader’s “state or position of being.”
Leadership in business is the capacity of a company's management to set and achieve challenging goals, take fast and decisive
action when needed, outperform the competition, and inspire others to perform at the highest level they can.
