Become a leader and a manager with Academia’s management courses

Are you a leader or a manager?

While there’s a lot of overlap between the two, each is a distinct role!

Many people don’t understand the difference. As a result, some managers act like leaders, and some leaders act like managers.

People who are on top of their organisation should know how both terms differ. What’s more, those who are applying for management and leadership roles should also know the difference, as it can influence how well you’re able to perform your role!

Leaders and managers play a crucial role in leading your team and organisation to success.

Today, we’ll be explaining the difference, as well as how our management courses in Melbourne can help!

Let’s get picky: the differences between leadership and management

Just because you’ve been promoted into a management role doesn’t make you a leader – likewise, not all leaders are in management positions.

There’s a big difference between managing and leading people. However, both are important, no matter the organisation or business!

In a nutshell, management is all about resources. It’s the “hard” side of the equation, dealing with numbers and clear outcomes.

As a manager, you’ll be looking after staff, deadlines, planning, supplies and equipment in order to achieve organisational goals.

All of these are crucial for day-to-day operations, making managers an essential part of any organisation.

By contrast, leadership is harder to define.

While managers work with tangible outcomes and resources, leaders work with people, and requires excellent “soft” skills. They motivate, energise, engage and set an example.

It might sound a bit vague, but all of this has a tangible effect on your team: we’ve all worked with or under someone who’s had that unexplainable something that makes us excited and motivated to work!

Both management and leadership are crucial, no matter the organisation. What’s more, both may also touch on different skills and attributes.

How management and leadership differ in…

Scope

Leaders are visionary: it’s all about painting a picture of where you want to be, and motivating your team to get there.

This can include ideas about the purpose of your business, all the way down to individual projects.

By contrast, managers are about goals. They deal in hard numbers and facts, and set yardsticks, deadlines, and quotas, as well as organise resources to meet those goals.

Both of these roles complement each other.

Say you’ve got a big, tough project coming up.

Management skills are essential in ensuring that the project goes off without a hitch; leadership skills are crucial in keeping the team on-task and motivated, in spite of the daunting nature of the project.

Work relationships

The best leaders are good at building work relationships.

They see everyone in the organisation as someone who has the potential to make a significant difference, and excel at building relationships with their team members.

That’s not to say that managers can’t form strong relationships with their staff – what we’re saying is that it’s only one of the skills needed to excel as a manager.

While managers also need good people skills, that’s just one part of the recipe that makes a good manager. A good manager will also need to be an excellent administrator on top of that.

Formal authority

Managers are appointed to their positions – conversely, anyone with the right personal traits can take on a leadership position.

Say you have one person on your team that holds everything together through sheer force of personality. They take charge when things get prickly, motivate and everyone listens to them despite their lack of formal authority.

We’ve all worked with someone like that in the past.

Sure, they may have been on the same level as you, or even below you in the hierarchy. Despite that, you still found yourself following them regardless.

Leadership isn’t tied to a specific spot in the hierarchy. It can come from anyone, no matter their formal position or rank.

Skills and traits

Thanks to the different qualities inherent to both roles, leaders and managers need different skill sets.

Leaders share a vision and inspire others to act on it.

In order for leaders to motivate and lead others towards one common goal, they need to have certain personal skills that will enable them to connect with their team:

Motivational
Flexibility
Trustworthiness
Positivity
Feedback
Creativity
Commitment

Managers on the other hand work with tangible goals and resources. As such, good managers excel at:

Strategic thinking
Problem solving
Mentoring
Planning
Organisation
Delegation
Commercial awareness

Study leadership and management courses in Melbourne with Academia

Leadership and management aren’t a zero-sum game – you can be both a leader and a manager (in fact, it’s best that you’re proficient in both!)

While some people are naturally inclined towards one or the other, many leadership and management skills can in fact be taught.

And that’s what our management courses in Melbourne aim to achieve!

At Academia, our focus is on creating well-rounded graduates. As such, our management courses cover all the essential traits of management and leadership.

Academia provides a range of management courses in Melbourne, perfect for those who want to take their management and leadership skills to the next level and advance their careers:

Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management (BSB61015)

Academia’s Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management course provides you with both the knowledge and expertise needed for you to succeed in leading and managing your team.

Throughout this course’s lectures, lab workshops and assignment work, you’ll learn about all the essential finance, risk management, strategic planning, human resources skills you’ll need to make management decisions and achieve your goals.

In addition to that however, our experienced instructors will also coach you in essential leadership qualities, turning you into a well-rounded graduate.

Explore our Diploma of Leadership and Management.

Eager to learn more about our business and management courses? Get in touch with one of oru friendly course advisors today!

Call us to learn more about our courses, or enquire online.