When working in a company, many people wonder about the differences between leadership roles. Is the team leader the same as the team manager? Do they have the same responsibilities? If they’re not the same, what are the differences between their roles?
Employees in an organization should know the difference between the two. People should also generally have an idea of the requirements for both roles. It can help you get an idea of what role you want to play in the future, better understand how your organization operates, and help you self-actualize your professional ambitions.
Can you be a team leader or manager? Even if you can, do you want to be a team leader or a manager?
For this purpose, here is a guide that can help you differentiate between the two. It will help make career paths more clear to you and give you a clear vision of who you want to be. Learn the parallels between the two. Let’s begin.
Hierarchy And General Responsibilities
More than often managers are at the top of the hierarchy and the team leader works under them. This may vary for a few companies, but it is the common rule. When a manager requires the execution of a project, they appoint a team leader. This person is usually another member of the team, however, they are in charge of the project.
A team leader sets targets for the task, distributes the work, and ensures that the targets are met. The progress is then reported to the manager. They ultimately decide if the progress is okay, and what else needs to be done to achieve the bigger goals.
Leadership Vs. Direction
The management often takes the approach of direction, where they simply give out orders. The responsibilities of being a leader lies with the team leader. The manager may take on that role, however, they often choose not to involve themselves. This is because a manager often has multiple objectives.
A team leader, on the other hand, is leading a team for a specific purpose. Instead of being authoritative, a team leader inspires their colleagues. They push for them to be motivated towards the job. For this, they often guide their team members at every step of the way.
Result-Orientation Or A Personalized Approach?
A manager has to answer to a higher level of authority. This is why they are focused on delivering results, focused on the numbers of the bottom line. They need to prove to the company officials that the company is performing at its best. Alternatively, a team leader makes sure that the team members are satisfied and feeling well, while working on the team’s goals.
Team leaders discuss important decisions with their team members and then make choices. They also observe if the team members agree with those decisions or not. To conclude, they have a more personal approach as compared to the more result-based one that managers use.
Obviously, one key factor is the relationship between the manager and the team leader. The manager’s main responsibility is to make sure that the final outcome is satisfying, but they have to be cautious not to be over demanding, as dealing with a competitive manager is something that can be very daunting for the entire team, not just for the team leader himself.
Team Leader Inspiration Or Manager planning?
To make it easier for you to clear the difference between the two, notice how they work with their employees. A manager is usually a great planner. They know how to use every resource optimally. They can effectively decide how a task can be achieved. Well, at least the good ones.
Leadership is a different team role. A team leader would know how to solve unexpected issues within the team if they arise, and communicate effectively with each member of the team. A good team leader would know what’s the right way to approach each one of his colleagues, in a way that can deliver the best performance out of them.
Short-Term Vs. Long-Term Goals
The difference between a management role and a team leadership role lies in the duration of their goal. A manager often aims for a short-term goal of a given team, in order to execute the broader company strategy and goals. Can you think of any such goals that you have seen managers aim for? These could be a promotion, or a certain percentage increase in revenues or sales? It could even be to cut some expenses. On the other hand, a leader usually has long-term goals.
What kind of long-term goals should a leader have? A team leader tries to bring reform or change. With flexibility, they aim for the long-term personal growth of each team member. This would not make the company more profitable in the short term, rather than increasing the organization’s human capital, developing better employees, and therefore increasing the company’s value.
A Manager’s Company Growth And A Team Leader’s Following
Continuing with the previous point, a team leader acts as a guide to their team members. When in the presence of such inspiration, many people look up to a team leader. There must be a leader in your team as well who acts like a mentor to you. That is the leader’s effect. Alternatively, it is very common to fear your boss.
A manager can often be intimidating. This is because most times, the manager’s goals are skewed. Managers are often concerned with their own personal and the company’s growth. This can cause them to neglect other things that might affect the workforce. With your goals in mind, you can decide between a team leader or manager in a clear-cut way.
Reform Or Maintain The Status Quo?
In every organization, there is a set hierarchy. In this setup, the manager is often at the top of the ladder. There are very few people in the world who would willingly give up power. Hence, it is understandable if managers don’t want to give it up either, therefore they are usually not trying to change anything, rather than preserving their status and acting according to the upper management’s expectations in hope of being one of them one day.
If you observe your workplace, you can definitely witness these status-preserving efforts. However, a team leader is oftentimes different. Since they are much more involved in the actual creation of new products, revenue streams, or organizational processes, they know how the company’s procedures and work methods can be improved.
This ‘boots on the ground’ point of view enables them to see how really the companies resources are being deployed, how much of people’s potential is being fulfilled, and therefore know what needs to be changed and reformed. The chances of succeeding in implementing these changes, however, depends on many factors, like corporate politics, the influence that the team leader has, and the company’s culture regrading change.
Are you working in a company that you see that things are changing, according to the bottom employees’ feedback and experiences?
Are you a manager or a team leader that truly listens to the bottom employees’ feedback and experiences, for improving your company?
It’s All About The Money?
The financial aspect is a very important topic in this discussion. By this time, you would know which role would be more financial-oriented. Have you guessed which one? It is the management role. This isn’t some article spewing hate on managers as their reasoning is almost fit for their role. Incorporating a little leadership can’t hurt.
A manager has financial goals to cover, and sometimes they compromise on other things for those goals. A team leader, however, would compromise a little of the financial goals for other things, like the quality of the product or service, and the wellbeing of the team.
Of course, the 2 above takeaways are very broad and not 100% accurate, as each role and decision-making process is based on the company’s culture and other factors. But if it was up to you, would you prefer a team leader or a manager? What would be your considerations when deciding what are the right KPI’s for your company?
Who Takes Credit For Your Accomplishments?
A manager is fuelled by personal growth. At the end of the day, they are going to be the ones presenting the project to the higher officials. Not the entire team. This way, the hard work of the team is discredited and moved as an accomplishment for the manager.
Of course, the higher officials know that the manager didn’t do all the job, but as it is a hierarchy-based organization, he gets most of the credit. A team leader doesn’t let that happen. They make sure that their team comes first, and credit is given where it is due. After all, it was a team effort, and if the leader would take all the credit the rest of the team members would not want to work hard, or at all, for him anymore.
Who Assigns Blame For Failure?
Of course, the manager isn’t the bad guy here he’s just doing his job, but sometimes they are. If there is an error in the work submitted to them, they look for the person who made the mistake. They look for someone to take the fall. A team leader is the first one to take the blame.
They claim their responsibility towards the team and believe that it was their shortfall. They should have caught and corrected it. Here too, it was a team effort, but it is the leader who was responsible for the team.
Using Power Vs. Empowering
Who is better to work under? A team leader or manager? Team leaders are empowering. They empower their teams. When the team leaders trust their members with their work, they empower them. They even encourage their team members to take risks and explore new ideas. This helps them grow.
On the other side of the story, managers are appointed with power. Since they are superior, they often use their power. This can be done by bossing people around and expressing negative leadership. Sometimes, they give orders that employees aren’t comfortable following. This can create major issues in the workplace and even cause issues for the company. Unhappy employees will not add to the company’s health.
This was a brief guide to the different responsibilities and working styles of team leaders and managers. In some cases, taking on the role of a manager is important. Being objective is a priority in running an organization. But so is caring for your workers and developing non-financial goals. A team leader is better at that.
If you are in a higher position in your office, look around you. Do you need to be a team leader or manager? Different situations require different versions of yourself, different qualities, and actions. Learn to adapt. If you wish to climb the ladder, both are equally important roles.
You must learn to identify a situation and practice the best approach for it. Both roles can benefit you in different ways, but above all, you must work for a goal that is bigger than yourself, as that is what will you grow, and if you keep on working hard, if can you gain enough momentum and achieve anything.
