Management is the act or art of managing or directing for a purpose. Management is akin to administration; keeping control. It includes business dealings, negotiation, and arrangements. Management uses judicious means to accomplish an end result. Synonyms include: conduct; administration; government; direction; guidance; care; charge.
Supervision is the act of overseeing—inspection, superintendence, oversight.
There are many definitions of Leadership. These definitions share common ideas and terms:
- Exerting influence
- Motivating and inspiring
- Helping others realize potential
- Setting an example
- Selflessness
- Making a difference
1. Managing means “taking care of business.”
Who is a manager? A manager is an individual who is in charge of a certain group of assigned tasks, or a certain area of an organization to oversee either staff or customers. A company may set up their managers to be staff managers, or if the workflow dictates, they may be called line managers, and there are also the more specific project managers – each of these titles are generally assigned per the job required.
2. When you supervise you have “super vision” (seeing the big picture), aligning your staff, partners, or customers with the organization’s mission, vision, values, and goals.
Who is a supervisor? A supervisor is the person in the first-level of upper management who monitors and guides the staff in their performance of assigned or delegated work tasks. They are responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the work. Supervisors are usually authorized to recommend and/or effect hiring, disciplining, promoting, and other decisions regarding their departments.
3. Leading means bringing people from one place to another —and in many cases, they enjoy the journey.
What is a Leader? A leader may be the head of a company, or could be just a middle-manager, their position doesn’t define a leader. A leader knows how to motivate better than anyone else. A good leader motivates, and channels the energy of workers (and customers) to discover greater professional potential in order to achieve objectives.
A good leader sets the bar high for their people, because they want to reach higher goals with the best performance by their teams. A firm leader will achieve great results. That leader must know how to listen! Through listening you learn the needs of your people, and can then provide the time and resources for them to get the job done, and achieve goals.
So, are you a manager? Being a manager is important – but what would it take to be a leader?
Leadership brings groups closer to a desirable future state, with an emphasis on character, integrity, and communication.
What leadership skills will you work on today?
This information is from the Improving Communications Leadership & Management Development class. If you’re looking for ways to improve your communication skills, register for one of our public classes.
Other Resources:
Supervisor, Manager, Leader: What’s the Difference?
Rich Atkins is the Managing Director of Improving Communications, a New York-based corporate training firm that, in addition to Speaker Services, offers Business Writing, Public Speaking & Presentation Skills, Sales and Negotiation, Customer Service, Leadership, Staff Development, and Human Resources training. He is also the Director of Improving Communications UK and Improving Communications IE.