Navel Rear Admiral Grace Hopper said, “managers manage things, while leaders lead people” (Albertan 2013). The question of whether a good manager can be a good leader and whether a good leader is a good manager is a topic that is being discussed in business. A good manager can be a good leader, but that is not always the case. However, a person can be a good manager and not be a good leader. Kotter (2013) explains that people continue to confuse leadership and management. Kotter had this to say, “People use the terms “management” and “leadership” interchangeably.

This shows that they don’t see the crucial difference between the two and each role’s vital functions. People use the term “leadership” to refer to the people at the very top of hierarchies. On the other hand, they then call the people in the layers below them in the organization “management.” And then all the rest are workers, specialists, and individual contributors” (2013).

While Albertan defines management as a process by which individuals work with and through other people to accomplish organizational objectives (2013). Daft (2012) explains that management is the attainment of organizational goals effectively and efficiently through planning, organizing, directing, and controlling corporate resources.  A manager performs management functions. Caroselli states that a manager is a person who gets things done through other people and performs the task of planning, directing, controlling, hiring, delegating, assigning, organizing, motivating, disciplining, and serving as the liaison between employees and upper management (2000). 

In contrast, leadership is about inspiring people to change their behavior and take action. Kotter (2013) explains that leadership takes an organization into the future, finding opportunities in a fast changing environment. He continued, “Leadership is about vision, about people buying in, and empowering people to produce successful change.”  A leader is very aware of the needs of the people around him or her and is able to adapt to meet those needs. Boyatzis and Mckee (2005) explained that, the best leaders are motivated and are able to radiate that positive attitude, in the people around them. They also explained that, listening and understanding is a key skill of a good leader.

Thus, I possess both skills based on the characteristics of a leader and a manager. My role as a Change Management Coordinator requires influencing, inspiring, and encouraging people to buy into the organizational vision.  A Change Management Coordinator is responsible for communicating the corporate image, listening to employees’ feedback, and responding appropriately to their concerns or questions.  Kotter (2007) says, “Change, by definition, requires creating a new system, which always demands leadership.”

At the same time, I also perform managerial functions and leadership functions in my role as Project Manager for IT Awareness Projects.  During the development of strategic plans for communicating changes as they relate to Technology changes. These roles require me to perform the following functions: Organizing which involves determining who performs what function (Albertan 2013).Motivating employees to perform to their highest productivity (Albertan 2013). Controlling by monitoring the progress towards completion of organizational goals and objectives. Communicating to employees and managers by keeping them abreast of status, providing direction and feedback(Albertan 2013).With that in mind, management and leadership are two distinctive functions, however a manager may possess leadership qualities as does a leader can possess great management skill.