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There is a lack of understanding about the difference between leading people and managing people. This can lead to confusion and misunderstandings about the roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers.
This lack of understanding can have negative consequences, such as leaders attempting to micromanage their team or failing to effectively motivate and inspire their employees. It can also lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication within organizations, which can hinder productivity and efficiency.
By clearly understanding the difference between leading and managing people, individuals in leadership positions can effectively utilize both approaches to achieve the best results. Leading involves inspiring and motivating people to work towards a shared vision, while managing involves setting goals, delegating tasks, and ensuring that processes are in place to achieve those goals. By understanding the importance of both approaches and learning how to effectively utilize them, leaders can create a positive and productive work environment.

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There is a distinction between managing people and leading people in an organization. Many individuals are unaware of this fact and operate under the false assumption that holding the position of manager immediately makes them a leader. That is not the case at all.

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It is not necessary to be an effective leader in order to be an effective manager.

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Think about that for a minute. It's not necessary to be an effective leader to be an effective manager.

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If you want to be successful in business, it is vital for you to grasp the distinctions between these two jobs, which we will cover in this blog article. We will also explain why it is important to understand both roles.

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Let's summarize what Managers do:

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First Line Managers (FLM) are the backbone of any organization. They are the key to an organization’s success. They directly manage and have great influence over employees who perform day-to-day operational work, so their ability as a manager relies heavily on how well they can effectively engage with these workers. So it's important that they're chosen wisely!

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First-line managers must show themselves as being robustly able to implement management systems that focus not only on short-term issues but also on long-term goals. This will allow your team room for improvement by stabilizing operations within any given environment while continuously driving improvements through employee development programs--which are proven methods of improving performance levels.

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  • FLM1 – Roles & Responsibilities Management
  • FLM2 – Processes & Procedures Management
  • FLM3 – Meetings Management
  • FLM4 – Technology & Tools Management
  • FLM5 – Reporting & Measurements Management
  • FLM6 – Analytics & Optimization Management
  • FLM7 – Continual Service Improvement Management
  • People Management Systems (Employee Engagement, Employee Enablement, Employee Empowerment)

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Let's summarize what Senior Managers do:

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Establishing effective Upline Management (UM) and Governance (GOV) systems is critical to the success of any business, especially for those with a complex or matrix organizational structure. The senior management team must develop and implement a clear set of rules and protocols that will ensure decisions are made efficiently and effectively across all levels of the organization.

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Maintaining a proper perspective on what's important is crucial when it comes down to deciding how best to handle certain situations or issues that may arise within your company over short periods rather than long-term plans because sometimes quick decisions must be made without much information available at all hand.

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At a high-level, Senior Managers are responsible for implementing the necessary disciplines and systems to drive effective management and governance of their respective areas. Let's take a look at some of the disciplines and systems:

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Implement Disciplines: Organization & Management | Processes & Procedures | Technology & Tools | Mindsets & Behaviours

Implement Systems: Operational Management | First Line Management | Upline Management | People Management

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  • UM1 - Financial (Billing, Rev,Cost, GP) Management
  • UM2 - Service Level Management
  • UM3 - Customer Relationship /Client Journey Mgmt.
  • UM4 - Business Controls Management
  • UM5 - Cross-Department Management
  • UM6 - Vendor Management
  • UM7 - Crisis Management
  • UM8 - Delivery Excellence /Analytics Management
  • UM9 - Global Delivery Management
  • UM10 - New Business / Growth / RFS Management
  • UM11 - Risk Management
  • UM12 - Contract Management
  • UM13 - Account Governance /Strategy
  • UM14 - Issues/Escalations Management
  • UM15 - Transition & Transformation Mgmt.
  • UM16 - Key Initiatives Management
  • GOV1 - Steering Committee
  • GOV2 - Joint Innovation Councils
  • GOV3 - Governance Meetings
  • GOV4 - Monthly Operational Meetings

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Let's summarize what People Managers do:

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Many businesses are attempting to undertake organizational transformation that has been inadequately thought out and implemented in previous attempts. While struggling with new systems for which there may not yet be sufficient training available within their departments, employees may feel unheard, disengaged, and less empowered – ultimately leading to low productivity levels among staff members who have been tasked by management with carrying out these responsibilities!

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A system is needed that strives to better understand how and why employees think and feel a certain way and how those thoughts and feelings translate into actions or actions. No Matter how innovative the technology is or how many processes have been written, the Organization will always struggle with implementing change unless the employee's behaviour is understood and addressed. And the risk will always be Inherent in day-to-day operations.

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  • EE1 - Employee Development
  • EE2 - Communications
  • EE3 - Employee/Manager Feedback Programs
  • EE4 - Monthly Accomplishments
  • EE5 - Employee Council
  • EE6 - Employee Social Events
  • EE7 - Awards & Recognition Program
  • EE8 - Round Table Discussions with Sr. Leaders
  • EE9 - Skip Level Interviews with Sr. Leaders
  • EE10 - Structured 1-on-1 Meetings
  • EE11 - Structure Team Meetings
  • EE12 - Pre-Shift Process / Daily WHY
  • EE13 - Weekly Scorecard / Monthly Operational Reports
  • EE14 - Inter-Department Management
  • EE15 - Employee Lunch & Learns
  • EE16 - Employee Roles & Responsibilities
  • EE 17 - Employee Performance Reviews Management

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Let's summarize what IT Operations Managers do:

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Operational Management is one of the four most important management systems, which also include First-Line Management, Upline Management, and People Management.

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It is a crucial component of every organization and plays an essential role in its success.

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The organization's capacity to guarantee product uptime and availability is impacted by operational management. It guarantees that internal clients can conduct their job productively and that the product and services are accessible for purchase by external clients.

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Although the fundamental function of Operations Management is to keep the lights on, a crucial aspect of Operations Management is to promote Continual Improvement. It accomplishes this by discovering new methods to reduce expenses and offering a platform for sales teams to enhance revenue.

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  • CORE-A1 - Major Incident Management
  • CORE-A2 - Problem Management
  • CORE-A3- Availability Management
  • CORE-B1 - Service Desk Management
  • CORE-B2 - Service / Catalog Request Management
  • CORE-B3 - Incident Management
  • CORE-B4- Change Management
  • CORE-B5 - Release/Deployment Management
  • CORE-B6 - Request for Service (RFS)Management
  • CORE-C1 - Configuration Management
  • CORE-C2 - Asset Management
  • CORE-C3 - Performance & Capacity Management
  • CORE-C4 - Event / Monitoring & Alerting Management
  • CORE-C5 - Firmware, Patch, & Currency Management
  • CORE-C6 - Backup & Recovery / Disaster Recovery Management


  • OM1 - Growth (Workloads/Transition) Management
  • OM2 - Financial (Cost) Management
  • OM3 - Skills/Training Management
  • OM4- Resource (Staffing) Management
  • OM5 - Quality Management
  • OM6 - Knowledge Management
  • OM7 - Technology & Tools* Management
  • OM8 - Risk Management
  • OM9 - Human Resource Management
  • OM10 - Communications Management
  • OM11 - Service Level Management
  • OM12 - Service Performance Management – Reporting & Measurements
  • OM13 - Service Performance Management – Analytics & Optimization
  • OM14 - Continual Service Improvement
  • OM15 - Facilities Management
  • OM16 - Issues/Escalations Management
  • OM17 - Business Controls/Compliance/Security
  • OM18 - Queue Management
  • OM19 - Cross Department Management
  • OM20 - Vendor/Supplier Management
  • OM21 - Staff Utilization
  • OM22 - Self-Service Management
  • OM23 - Automation/Self-Heal Management

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Now let's summarize what Leaders do:

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The term "leadership" gets thrown around quite a bit. However, what does it mean when someone says you are a good leader, or what does it mean when someone says you have good leadership qualities?

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A leader is not just someone who holds a position of authority, but someone who possesses the ability to inspire and guide others towards a shared vision and goal. A true leader is one who empowers and equips their team to reach their full potential, while fostering a culture of trust, respect, and accountability. They lead by example, and their actions speak louder than their words. They are not afraid to take calculated risks, and they are able to navigate the complexities of change and uncertainty. A good leader is a visionary, a mentor, and a catalyst for positive change.

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Let's start with the four key Leadership Principles:

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  • LP1 - Inspire & Motivate People
  • LP2 - Help People Achieve Their Goals & Objectives
  • LP3 - Help People Overcome Their Challenges
  • LP4 - Steer People Through Change

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Let’s break these four Leadership Principles down further and try to understand them better.

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What does "Inspire and motivate people" mean?

  • People are finding it increasingly harder to become and stay motivated or inspired to do great things in today’s harsh and unstable climate. We typically say that someone who can help rekindle the light in people is a strong leader.

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What does "Help people achieve their goals and objectives" mean?

  • To stay motivated, people need to have a set of goals and objectives. Moreover, they need to have a set of actions to help achieve them. Someone who can help people identify their goals and objectives and build a plan to achieve them is someone we refer to as a strong leader.

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What does "Help people overcome their challenges" mean?

  • The challenges people face can affect their motivations, their ability to achieve their goals and objectives, and the results. People are challenged with dealing with the complicated nature of business and a demanding and tumultuous environment. A strong leader is someone who can assist others in identifying and overcoming their challenges.

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What does "Steer people through difficult change" mean?

  • Change is all around us. You can accept the changing environment by adapting to navigate it successfully, or you may find yourself being left behind by the change or struggling to keep up with it. When this happens, people risk becoming disgruntled and detached. A strong leader is someone who can Guide others through challenging times.

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Now that we have a good understanding of the four Leadership Principles, we need to delve deeper to understanding the Leadership Characteristics that are needed to execute the principles:

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  • LC1 - Customer/Employee-Obsessed
  • LC2 - People Developer
  • LC3 - Collaborative
  • LC4 - Inclusive
  • LC5 - Empathetic
  • LC6 - Self-Aware
  • LC7 - Passionate
  • LC8 - Ethical
  • LC9 - Active-Listener
  • LC10 - Strong Communicator
  • LC 11 - Resilient
  • LC12 - Strategic
  • LC13 - Innovative
  • LC14 - Continuously Learning
  • LC15 - Trustworthy
  • LC16 - Results-Oriented
  • LC17 - Strong Business Acumen
  • LC18 - Technically Astute
  • LC19 - Domain Experience
  • LC20 - Adaptable

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It is essential to keep in mind that managing and leading are two very distinct skill sets. This is the single most significant point.

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You can be a good manager even if you're not a good leader. But anyone can be a good leader if they possess the qualities discussed above.

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To succeed in business, you must comprehend both roles and acquire the skills necessary to perform effectively in each of them.

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I hope that this post was able to help you grasp the difference between managing people and leading them! If you have any inquiries, please don't hesitate to ask them in the comments section below. Many thanks for reading!

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