Are you a manager – or a leader?

Are you a leader or a manager? To be successful you need to be a bit of both, writes Liam Stapleton, director of Metaphor Development

Management and leadership are often spoken of in the same breath, as if they come hand in hand but this is not so. We tend to be more engaged in management, with leadership thought of as something that ‘they’ do – the bigwigs, the people in charge. But leadership could, or should, be shown by everyone to some extent.

At the very least, everyone should show some personal leadership, thinking about what is important to them and where they are going; what their goals are; and what they should do first. We might also be involved with leading teams, businesses, or organisations.

People could be clinical leaders, or be thought leaders. Leadership is not hierarchical; everyone throughout an organisation will have great ideas.

People who are doing the job, are often the experts in doing it and can see how it can be done better. Great organisation leaders listen to these ideas and make them a reality.