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What if you took the traditional hierarchy of an organization, its leadership model, and flipped it completely upside down? You'd think that there would be chaos, but that's actually not true. This is actually a leadership approach called servant leadership. The servant leadership theory is focused on the idea that at the top of the hierarchy or system are the employees, and that a manager or leader's top priority is to serve them. Servant leadership is based on the idea that authority is more important than power, and that focus on empowering and uplifting others instead of personal gain is critical to everyone's success.

Servant leadership is used all around the world, and has roots in both Eastern and Western philosophy. This leadership style is used in different organizations, large and small, all around the world as well. While not widely adopted, many organizations have found great success by utilizing servant leadership.

At the root, this kind of leadership seeks to accomplish an organization where personal gain and goals don't infringe on the group. Everyone is empowered, uplifted, and encouraged in servant leadership. Your personal motivations aren't as important as helping others, and everyone is encouraged to serve others to help everyone get where they want to go.

If you want to go into business, getting a degree that will help you learn about communication and strategy is key to your success. Learning about leadership theories is also important in preparing you for your future career. You'll want to use that degree to help you figure out the best leadership style, and servant leadership is a great option for becoming a manager everyone enjoys working with. Learn more about this kind of leadership and how you can use it to help your organization thrive.

Servant leaders have many crucial characteristics that they share. In order for servant leadership to work in an organization, a leader needs to have these characteristics and the organization must support servant leadership culture. If everyone else in the organization is solely focused on themselves and their personal goals, servant leadership simply won't work. Which is why these characteristics and skills are key for great leadership to thrive. The most important characteristics of this leadership style are:

Humility. In this leadership style a servant leader needs to be humble enough to give up the control that is usually associated with a leadership role. They need to be willing to let go of the traditional role and stereotype of a leader or manager and be willing to let employees take the reins. This takes a lot of humility and confidence.

Empathy. A servant leader is focused on their employees, constantly working to understand them better. A servant leader wants to get to know them, work on a good relationship with them, and help them reach their goals as a team member. Empathy helps servant leaders connect with their employees and actively work to serve them.

Active listening. Leaders who are servants and are devoted to their employees practice active listening to show them that they truly care about them. They are open to discussion, so active listening helps demonstrate that to their employees. Active listening means they are truly hearing and absorbing what their employee says, and working to help facilitate a good conversation. They utilize organizational intelligence in conjunction with active listening to help steer the direction of the company.

Direct engagement. Leaders who are servants don't sit in their office and dictate. They are working right alongside their employees. They have tasks and responsibilities as part of the team. They often assign an employee to take the reins on a project, and the leader gets their hands dirty under the employee's direction. Direct engagement into what is going on in the organization is crucial for leaders who want to be servants.

Facilitation of growth. Servant leaders want their employees to succeed. They spend time noticing the skills their employees have. They don't just delegate tasks out to their employees, rather they work with them to find out what kinds of things they love to do and help give them tasks that are in that vein. They act as mentors to aid employee potential, and are directly focused on helping everyone grow and succeed.

It's important to see great leaders at work to understand how to pursue this kind of leadership style. There are many good examples of how to be a good servant leader including:

A servant leader will lead by example, working right next to their employee. They'll divide tasks with them, encouraging them to do half of a presentation while they do the other half. They'll take calls with customers or send out the same status updates that the rest of the employees do. They demonstrate that they aren't above everyone else, but are on the same team and focused on the same goal.

A servant leader may have an employee take the lead on an important project. They understand that having control isn't what makes them the leader, so they may assign someone below them a leading role in a project. This helps that employee get motivated and excited, and shows that the leader is interested in their potential and development.

A servant leader makes sure everyone knows their job is important. A great example of this is in the medical field, where a doctor relies heavily on their nurse and assistants to get everything done. They know that they couldn't do their job without their team, and their team knows that too.

A servant leader has their employee's backs. A great example of this is Southwest Airlines. Employees know that the organization focuses on them first, and then the customers. This leads to high retention rates and extremely high job satisfaction in the organization. Servant leaders show employees consistently that they care about them, that they want them to be successful and happy, and that leads to better outcomes for everyone.

There are many important advantages to using this kind of leadership in business. Some of these advantages include:

Higher profits. Good leaders help empower everyone to do their best in the organization, which can lead to making more money. When the whole team understands the goal and are all working together to reach that goal, it's much more likely to happen.

Lower turnover. Servant leaders attract and keep good employees. Employees don't quit jobs, they quit managers. Servant leadership sees much lower turnover rates because employees are happy at work, and enjoy working with their manager.

Better company culture. Overall, your company culture will thrive under servant leadership. Everyone will start to focus on how they can help each other, making the work environment a healthy, happy, and thriving place. There isn't cutthroat competition, gossip, drama, or jealousy. Everyone wants the best for each other.

Higher productivity. When everyone in an organization gets along and wants to help each other, higher productivity is the result. In this kind of leadership, leaders help encourage everyone to be their best for each other, lift each other up, and ultimately reach the goals faster.

If you're studying business, it's important to understand what kind of management style you can take on in your career. Servant leadership is a great option for those who want to help encourage their organization to grow and thrive together.

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What if you took the traditional hierarchy of an organization, its leadership model, and flipped it completely upside down? You'd think that there would be chaos, but that's actually not true. This is actually a leadership approach called servant leadership.

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Have you ever been in a group where someone took control of the situation by conveying a clear vision of the group's goals, a marked passion for the work, and an ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized? This person just might be what is called a transformational leader.

Transformational leadership is a leadership style that can inspire positive changes in those who follow. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate. Not only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed as well.

Quick Background

The concept of transformational leadership was initially introduced by leadership expert and presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership can be seen when "leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation."﻿﻿

Later, researcher Bernard M. Bass expanded upon Burns's original ideas to develop what is today referred to as Bass's Transformational Leadership Theory. According to Bass, transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers. Transformational leaders, Bass suggested, garner trust, respect, and admiration from their followers.﻿﻿

Mental Health in the Workplace Webinar

Components

Bass also suggested that there were four different components of transformational leadership.

1. Intellectual Stimulation: Transformational leaders not only challenge the status quo; they also encourage creativity among followers. The leader encourages followers to explore new ways of doing things and new opportunities to learn.

2. Individualized Consideration: Transformational leadership also involves offering support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive relationships, transformational leaders keep lines of communication open so that followers feel free to share ideas and so that leaders can offer direct recognition of the unique contributions of each follower.

3. Inspirational Motivation: Transformational leaders have a clear vision that they are able to articulate to followers. These leaders are also able to help followers experience the same passion and motivation to fulfill these goals.

4. Idealized Influence: The transformational leader serve as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalize his or her ideals.

So what are some typical signs of a transformational leader? Groups led by this type of leader tend to be both successful and loyal. They give a lot to the team and care deeply about the group's ability to accomplish its goals. Turnover tends to be quite low as transformational leaders are able to inspire a great deal of commitment in their followers.

In their classic text, Transformational Leadership, authors Bass and Riggio explained:

"Transformational leaders...are those who stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacity. Transformational leaders help followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers' needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization."

"Research evidence clearly shows that groups led by transformational leaders have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other types of leaders," explained psychologist and leadership expert Ronald E. Riggio in an article for Psychology Today.

The reason, he suggests, is that transformational leaders believe that their followers can do their best, leading members of the group to feel inspired and empowered.

What can you do to become a more transformational leader? Leadership experts suggest that having a strong, positive vision of the future plays a critical role. Not only is it important to believe in this vision yourself; you've also got to inspire others to buy into your vision as well.

Link to Well-Being

According to the results of one study, this style of leadership can also have a positive influence on employee well-being.﻿﻿

The study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine involved surveying workers at several different German information and communication technology companies. Researchers asked participants to answers questions about their employer's leadership style.

A score for transformational leadership was then determined based on qualities such as providing intellectual stimulation, giving positive feedback for good performance, leading by example, and helping employees feel like they were making a contribution toward the goals of the group.

The researchers discovered that employees who identified a higher level of transformational leadership in their employers also had higher reported levels of well-being. The effect stayed significant even after researchers controlled for factors that are linked to well-being such as job strain, education, and age.

"The results of this study suggest that a transformational leadership style, which both conveys a sense of trust and meaningfulness and individually challenges and develops employees, also has a positive effect on employee well-being," the authors summarized.

Real-World Applications

So what impact could such results have for managers and workers?

The study's authors suggest that the results are important and can help companies develop leadership training programs that can be used to teach transformational leadership skills. Acquiring communication skills such as resolving conflicts in the workplace and recognizing the needs of employees are an important part of transformational leadership.

"Such training programs can be seen as another essential component of workplace health promotion and prevention efforts and therefore should receive wide support," explained the study's authors.

A Word From Verywell

The transformational style of leadership can be highly effective when used appropriately, but it might not necessarily be the best choice for every situation. In some cases, groups may require a more managerial or autocratic style that involves closer control and greater direction, particularly in situations where group member are unskilled and need a lot of oversight.

One way to improve your own leadership skills is to assess your own current leadership style and think about ways in which your strengths can benefit the group you are leading. By evaluating your own skills, you will be better able to play to your strengths and work on improving your areas of weakness.

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How Do Transformational Leaders Inspire and Motivate Followers?

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Have you ever been in a group where someone took control of the situation by conveying a clear vision of the group's goals, a marked passion for the work, and an ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized? This person just might be what is called a transformational leader.

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Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs 

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Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs 

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School Guidance Counselors How They Help Students 

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School Guidance Counselors How They Help Students 

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School counseling takes place in public and private school settings in grades K-12. Counseling is designed to facilitate student achievement, improve student behavior and attendance, and help students develop socially. Mental health professionals with master's degrees or beyond, school counselors both provide counseling and serve an educational role in and around schools. Many schools have full-time counselors on staff in order to support students who are experiencing personal or academic challenges, help students choose careers and plan for college, and intervene when students face behavioral, physical, or mental health challenges.

History of School Counseling

In the early 20th century, as industrial centers grew throughout the United States, secondary schools began to increase their focus on courses that would help prepare students to enter the workforce. Some teachers doubled as vocational counselors in order to assist in these efforts.

1917: Specific legislation is drafted to provide funding for vocational guidance programs. Following this, the school guidance counseling profession grows.

1920s: New York becomes the first state to develop certification requirements for school counselors.

1930s: Urban elementary schools begin to offer school counseling services.

1950s: The humanistic psychology and person-centered psychology movements gaining traction lead the focus of school counseling to undergo a significant shift.

1970s: School counseling incorporates wider goals of helping students develop socially, personally, and academically.

1990s: A nationwide shift toward standards-based education and the adoption of legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act make it necessary for school counselors to find increasingly innovative ways to serve students.

What Do School Counselors Do?

School counselors, also known as guidance counselors, were first primarily responsible for facilitating career development. Today, the role of the school counselor is multifaceted and may vary greatly, depending on the requirements of both the state and each individual school.

The duties of school counselors may include:

Providing instruction on psychological and social issues. School counselors might teach sex education classes, provide information to students about bullying, or offer seminars on study skills.

Vocational guidance. Many school counselors help students prepare for college or select careers.

Counseling. School counselors often help students mediate conflicts with their peers, teachers, or parents. Many school counselors also provide short-term counseling services to students during school hours.

Early intervention. School counselors receive training about learning difficulties and psychological concerns that commonly manifest in children and adolescents. They may also provide referrals, recommendations, and education to parents about mental health concerns.

Special needs services. Counselors often help special needs students integrate into classrooms and may oversee programs that address requirements for students with special needs or learning difficulties.

Further, counselors often help students:

Maintain academic standards and set goals for academic success.

Develop skills to improve organization, study habits, and time management.

Work through personal problems that may affect academics or relationships.

Improve social skills.

Cope with school or community-related violence, accidents, and trauma.

Identify interests, strengths, and aptitudes through assessment.

School counselors offer individual counseling to help students resolve personal or interpersonal problems. They may also offer small group counseling to help students enhance listening and social skills, learn to empathize with others, and find social support through healthy peer relationships. For students who are otherwise unable to access mental health services, school counselors provide support at no cost. School counselors also provide support to school staff by assisting with classroom management techniques and the development of programs to improve mental health or school safety. When necessary, counselors may also intervene in a disrupted learning environment.

Required Training for School Counselors

School counselors must complete a master's degree, at minimum, in school counseling, psychology, or social work and obtain the relevant state certification, endorsement, or licensure to gain employment. This may involve taking a comprehensive exam and logging hours in a supervised counseling setting. In many cases, counselors will need to complete an internship or practicum, and some states also require previous teaching experience.

School counselors are required to renew their licensure every three to five years. This timeline depends on the requirements of the state in which they are employed. In order to renew licensure, continuing education classes or professional development courses are generally necessary.

Many states require public schools to provide school counseling services, and these programs are funded at the state or local level. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a student-to-school-counselor ratio of 250:1, although the average ratio is currently 471:1.

Do School Counselors Diagnose Mental Health Concerns?

Serious diagnosable mental health conditions affect 21% of U.S. children between the ages of 9 and 17, but only 20% of these children obtain a diagnosis and receive treatment in any given year. While school counselors may suspect the presence of learning difficulties or other conditions such as ADHD, they are not licensed to diagnose or prescribe medication. Some schools do have school psychiatrists, however, and these professionals are able to prescribe medication to students, though parental permission is typically necessary.

When a school counselor suspects the presence of a learning, behavioral, or mental health concern, they will typically provide a referral to a specialist in the community. Learning difficulties can be diagnosed by school or educational psychologists or neuropsychologists, and ADHD is generally diagnosed by psychiatrists, physicians, or clinical psychologists in private practice.
References:

1. American School Counselor Association. (n.d.). Student-to-School-Counselor Ratio 2010-2011. Retrieved from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/Ratios10-11.pdf

2. Careers/Roles (n.d.). American School Counselor Association. Retrieved from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=133

3. Colman, A. M. (2006). Oxford dictionary of psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

4. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Child and Adolescent Action Center: Facts on Children's Mental Health in America. Retrieved from http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=federal_and_state_policy_legislation&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=43804.

5. Ross-Kidder, Kathleen, PhD. (n.d.). Who Can Diagnose LD and/or ADHD? CalPoly Disability Resource Center. Retrieved from http://drc.calpoly.edu/content/eligibility/whoCanDiagnose

6. Wright, Robert J. (2011). School Counseling, an Evolving Profession. Introduction to School Counseling. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

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School Guidance Counselors: How They Help Students

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School counseling takes place in public and private school settings in grades K-12. Counseling is designed to facilitate student achievement, improve student behavior and attendance, and help students develop socially. Mental health professionals with master's degrees or beyond, school counselors both provide counseling and serve an educational role in and around schools.

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How to Improve School Based- Mental Health Support

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How to Improve School Based- Mental Health Support

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How Can We Improve School-Based Mental Health Support? | Jordan Wells | TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet

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"Research from Harvard Business School demonstrated that EQ counts for twice as much as IQ and Technical Skills in determining who will be successful!"

Emotional Intelligence Quiz

Our Emotional Intelligence quiz describes situations that we all experience in our lives (like being given difficult feedback). Be as honest as possible when answering the questions as that will provide you with the most accurate assessment of your level of Emotional Intelligence. Once you have taken the quiz, you will receive your results as well as recommendations on how you can manage your emotions and connect more skillfully with others.

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Test Your Emotional Intelligence, Free EQ Quiz, EI Test

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Test your emotional intelligence with our free EQ quiz. Our free emotional intelligence test assesses your how you can improve managing emotions under pressure

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The technical skills that helped secure your first promotion might not guarantee your next. If you aspire to be in a leadership role, there's an emotional element you need to consider. It's what helps you successfully coach teams, manage stress, deliver feedback, and collaborate with others.

It's called emotional intelligence, and accounts for nearly 90 percent of what sets high performers apart from peers with similar technical skills and knowledge.

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you. The term was first coined in 1990 by researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey, but was later popularized by psychologist Daniel Goleman.

More than a decade ago, Goleman highlighted the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership, telling the Harvard Business Review, "The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It's not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but...they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions."

Over the years, emotional intelligence-also known as EQ-has evolved into a must-have skill. Research by EQ provider TalentSmart shows that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance. And hiring managers have taken notice: 71 percent of employers surveyed by CareerBuilder said they value EQ over IQ, reporting that employees with high emotional intelligence are more likely to stay calm under pressure, resolve conflict effectively, and respond to co-workers with empathy.

The Four Components of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is typically broken down into four core competencies:

1. Self-awareness

2. Self-management

3. Social awareness

4. Relationship management

In order to improve your emotional intelligence, it's important to understand what each element entails. Here is a closer look at the four categories:

1. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is at the core of everything. It describes your ability to not only understand your strengths and weaknesses, but to recognize your emotions and the effect they have on you and your team's performance.

According to research by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, 95 percent of people think they're self-aware, but only 10 to 15 percent actually are, and that can pose problems for your employees. Working with colleagues who aren't self-aware can cut a team's success in half and, according to Eurich's research, lead to increased stress and decreased motivation.

In order to bring out the best in others, you first need to bring out the best in yourself, which is where self-awareness comes into play. One easy way to assess your self-awareness is by completing 360-degree feedback, in which you evaluate your performance and then match it up against the opinions of your boss, peers, and direct reports. Through this process, you'll gain insights into your own behavior and discover how you're perceived in the organization.

2. Self-Management

Self-management refers to the ability to manage your emotions, particularly in stressful situations, and maintain a positive outlook despite setbacks. Leaders who lack self-management tend to react and have a harder time keeping their impulses in check.

A reaction tends to be automatic. The more in tune you are with your emotional intelligence, however, the easier you can make the transition from reaction to response. It's important to remember to pause, breathe, collect yourself, and do whatever it takes to manage your emotions-whether that means taking a walk or calling a friend-so that you can more appropriately and intentionally respond to stress and adversity.

: 4 Tips for Growing Your Professional Network

3. Social Awareness

While it's important to understand and manage your own emotions, you also need to know how to read a room. Social awareness describes your ability to recognize others' emotions and the dynamics in play within your organization.

Leaders who excel in social awareness practice empathy. They strive to understand their colleagues' feelings and perspectives, which enables them to communicate and collaborate more effectively with their peers.

Global leadership development firm DDI ranks empathy as the number one leadership skill, reporting that leaders who master empathy perform more than 40 percent higher in coaching, engaging others, and decision-making. In a separate study by the Center for Creative Leadership, researchers found that managers who show more empathy toward their direct reports are viewed as better performers by their boss.

By communicating with empathy, you can better support your team, all while improving your individual performance.

4. Relationship Management

Relationship management refers to your ability to influence, coach, and mentor others, and resolve conflict effectively.

Some prefer to avoid conflict, but it's important to properly address issues as they arise. Research shows that every unaddressed conflict can waste about eight hours of company time in gossip and other unproductive activities, putting a drain on resources and morale.

If you want to keep your team happy, you need to have those tough conversations: In a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 72 percent of employees ranked "respectful treatment of all employees at all levels" as the top factor in job satisfaction.

Why Emotional Intelligence Matters

Leaders set the tone of their organization. If they lack emotional intelligence, it could have more far-reaching consequences, resulting in lower employee engagement and a higher turnover rate.

While you might excel at your job technically, if you can't effectively communicate with your team or collaborate with others, those technical skills will get overlooked. By mastering emotional intelligence, you can continue to advance your career and organization.
Do you want to enhance your leadership skills? Download our free leadership e-book and explore our online course Leadership Principles to discover how you can become a more effective leader and unleash the potential in yourself and others.

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Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Why It's Important

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The technical skills that helped secure your first promotion might not guarantee your next. If you aspire to be in a leadership role, there's an emotional element you need to consider. It's what helps you successfully coach teams, manage stress, deliver feedback, and collaborate with others.

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Taking a leadership inventory and understanding your personal leadership style is the first step in developing your leadership skills and becoming a better manager, public official, law enforcement or safety officer, and emergency responder.

Spend 5 minutes answering 12 multiple choice questions to determine your leadership style. Each result offers additional information and next steps to elevate your management and leadership skills.

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Leadership Style Quiz: 12 Clever Questions to Identify your Style

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Taking a leadership inventory and understanding your personal leadership style is the first step in developing your leadership skills and becoming a better manager, public official, law enforcement or safety officer, and emergency responder. Spend 5 minutes answering 12 multiple choice questions to determine your leadership style.

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Characteristics of the Effective Leader 

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Characteristics of the Effective Leader 

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12 Effective Leadership Skills to Help Lead Your Team Better

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What makes a great leader? There isn’t one simple answer to that question, as there’s so much that goes into effective leadership.

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Leadership – When It Matters Most :: Focus

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What leadership styles define your identity and attitude as a leader

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NAIS - The Importance of Cultivating Emotional Intelligence in Schools

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7 Questions for Developing Your Personal Leadership Philosophy

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What is the main difference between leadership and management? While many of you may think that these two terms mean the same thing, this is not the case. Moreover, leaders and managers can possess some very different skills and characteristics which we will cover later in this blog.
In this blog, you will also learn that proper communication is one of the main prerequisites for successful leadership and management.

💡Check out Top Leadership Skills and become the leader your employees need.

Now, let's take a deep dive into the main differences between leadership and management.

How Leadership and Management are Different

Leadership and management are often considered to have overlapping functions. While this can be true, these two terms have different meanings and shouldn't be used interchangeably. Both imply a unique set of functions, characteristics, and skills that share similarities.

However, they show prominent differences in some circumstances. For example, some managers do not practice leadership, while others lead without a managerial role.

A manager is generally someone who is selected or appointed within an organization. In most cases, a manager is selected based on specific technical skills, knowledge, and expertise. On the contrary, the greatest leadership skill is to influence and inspire people.

💡 Keep reading about the 18 leadership communication trends.

In the workplace, it is important to have both great leaders and managers. Organizations need good leaders to achieve their mission and vision. They also need good managers to ensure that things are getting done and that their teams are aligned with the company's goals.

Let's now take a look at the 5 main differences between leadership and management.

Since the start of the pandemic, the role of leaders and managers in an organization has become even more important than before. Remote work and hybrid work can make it harder to influence people, imrove employee experience, and ensure higher engagement levels.

💡 Also lead about the 20 ways to engage with your remote employees!

Now let's jump to the leadership vs. managers section!

Leaders Set the Vision, Managers Follow It

When it comes to setting and executing a company's mission and vision, managers and leaders have different roles.

Leaders are visioners. Most of them have a clear vision of where they want their organizations to be in the future. However, they themselves are not the only ones responsible for making that vision come true.

Here, managers play a crucial role. While leaders may be responsible, through efficient leadership communication, to transfer the company's mission, vision and goals to the entire organization, managers are responsible for keeping employees aligned with the core company values and goals. However, 71% of employees believe that their leaders do not spend enough time communicating goals and plans.

Even though managers are the ones who can influence people to work towards the same objectives, many employees agree that their company doesn't do a good job communicating the company's goals. Moreover, employees want and expect to be informed about how their organization is doing and where it is heading.
"I think of management as working with other people to make sure the goals an organization has articulated are executed,"
says HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in an interview for the online course Management Essentials.
"It's the process of working with others to ensure the effective execution of a chosen set of goals. Leadership is about developing what the goals should be. It's more about driving change."
Moreover, by speaking openly about the company's goals, opportunities, and challenges, leaders are the ones who can build trust in the workplace. They can foster a productive work environment where employees feel empowered to share their own ideas, needs and concerns. The more transparent leaders are, the healthier the work environment becomes.

💡 Learn more about the characteristics of a great leader.

Leaders Think Ideas, Managers Think Execution

While a managerial culture emphasizes rationality and control, leaders are more about looking for opportunities for improvement on the organizational level. They do so by coming up with new ideas and driving the shift to a forward-thinking mindset. In other words, managers always look for answers to "how and when," while leaders look for answers to "what and why."

Therefore, the managers' main responsibility is to fulfill their tasks based on the leader's vision. Their main job is to ensure that people on different functions with different responsibilities operate efficiently, productively, and feel like they can share their voice.

They should always watch the bottom line by controlling employees and providing necessary information, processes, workflows and tools so that employees are enabled for success.

Managers relate to people according to the role they play in a decision-making process, while leaders, who are concerned with ideas, relate in more high-level but empathetic ways. The main difference is simply between a manager's attention to how things get done and a leader's attention to what should be done to achieve greater results.

As leaders always look for new ideas, they can also play a crucial role in driving change within organizations. Moreover, a leader inspires positive, incremental change by empowering employees to work toward common objectives. A leader's most powerful tool for doing so is efficient communication.

Change communication messages coming from leaders should get people prepared to do things differently and give the reason why, while managers should continuously reinforce these messages. Yet, many managers are not even aware of why a change is happening.

Leaders Inspire People; Managers Drive Their Success

While leaders have a great power to inspire people, managers are responsible for driving their continuous success and positive work experience throughout employee's entire career journey.

As managers account for over 70% of employees' engagement in the workplace, they are also held accountable for how successful and productive their teams are.

However, when people are not inspired by what leadership has to say, there is little managers can do to help their people succeed. By developing a personal leadership style through self-reflection, authentic communication and continuous feedback, leaders can empower their workforce, get their followers' attention and inspire them to pursue important organizational initiatives.

Studies show that employees feel less stressed and under pressure when they have the opportunity to engage with the leaders regularly. Moreover, leadership has a great power to impact employee engagement.

Employees work more effectively within workplaces that support honest, open and transparent communication. Yet, many organizations still neglect the importance of two-way communication between leaders and employees. Instead, the information flows one way, and employees don't have the opportunity to join company-wide conversations.

Leaders Look in the Future, Managers Work In the Present

One of the main differences between leaders and managers is that leaders are more future-focused, while managers are more focused on the present.

Therefore, the manager's most important goal is to achieve organizational goals by implementing processes and procedures around budgeting, organizational structuring, and staffing. On the other hand, leaders tend to think ahead and capitalize on future opportunities.

However, the leadership's vision of the future means nothing if it can't be transparently and clearly communicated to both managers and employees.

As one of the biggest drivers of employee engagement and experience in the workplace is the feeling of purpose and the alignment of employees' personal and professional values, every leader should strive towards creating that sense of purpose among employees.

Leaders Shape the Culture, Managers Endorse It

When comparing leaders vs managers, it's important to look at the organization's corporate culture.

Culture is a system of values, beliefs, and behaviors that shape and determine how an organization operates and how the work gets done. When organizational culture is aligned to the overall business strategy, employees and other stakeholders act and behave in ways that support and enable the achievement of business goals.

When it comes to the organization's culture, the difference between leadership and management is that leaders define and shape the culture. At the same time, the managers lead their employees to live up to that culture.

It is the leader's duty to uphold the core company values and beliefs of the organization's culture through their actions, authentic communication and their decisions. Passionate and inspiring leaders have a great power to communicate the organizational culture company-wide and influence employees' behaviors.

Their skills and leadership styles have a big impact on how employees take and live that culture, while the manager's role is to continuously support and endorse the culture within their teams.

Therefore, driving employees to live by the company's culture and core values is impossible without the collaboration between leadership and management.

The Areas Where Management and Leadership Overlap

Even though the roles of leadership and management in the organization may vary, there are many areas where their duties and responsibilities overlap. The three main areas include:

Communication: both leadership and management communication is crucial for an organization's success. As mentioned earlier, employees expect to be informed and educated about where their company stands and heading. While leadership communication should inspire people, continuous and clear management communication empowers people to do their best and build stronger relationships among teams.

Problem-solving and decision-making: effective decision-making and problem-solving is both the manager's and the leader's responsibility. While leaders may be responsible for decision making on a company-level, managers are held accountable for decision making on the team or departmental level.

Change and crisis management: similar to decision making, leaders and managers should work collaboratively during times of change or crisis. The current world situation has taught us about the importance of agile workplace transformation and the need to quickly adapt to change. While leaders may have a better understanding of the change that needs to be implemented, managers have better knowledge around how to enable their employees to accept the change and align with it.

Top 10 Leadership and Management Skills

This video shows a great overview of the most important management and leadership skills.

According to the video, leadership is all about leading people towards a common goal, while management is all about the process of dealing with or controlling things and people.
The top 10 management skills include:

1. Interpersonal skills

2. Communication

3. Motivation

4. Organization

5. Delegation

6. Forward planning

7. Strategic thinking

8. Problem-solving

9. Commercial awareness

10. Mentoring

The top 10 leadership skills include:

1. Communication

2. Motivation

3. Delegation

4. Positivity

5. Trustworthiness

6. Creativity

7. Feedback

8. Responsibility

9. Commitment

10. Flexibility

7 Inspiring Quotes About Leadership vs. Management

Looking for inspiring quotes about leadership and management, here are some of the most popular ones:

1. Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. -Stephen Covey

2. Lead and inspire people. Don't try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led. -Ross Perot

3. Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall. -Stephen Covey

4. Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing. -Tom Peters

5. You manage things; you lead people. -Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

6. Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. -Peter F. Drucker, author and educator

7. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. -Warren Bennis, American scholar, organizational consultant, and author

Empower Your Managers and Leaders with the Right Technology

With the rise of remote work, dispersed workforce and social distancing restrictions, both leaders and managers are faced with new challenges in the workplace.

Today, most organizations' primary goal is to keep their dispersed employees connected, inspired and engaged even when they are physically separated. Additionally, they need to reach all their employees in a timely manner with relevant information, on any device, no matter where employees are located.

Luckily, modern employee apps and technology offer solutions for these challenges. Employee Engagement platform Haiilo, enables managers and leaders to:

Drive two-way workplace communications

Create and share all the essential information in one place

Bring their respective teams to one digital home

Segment internal audiences in order to deliver information based on employees needs, preferences, job functions, locations and many more

Enable mobile-first workplace communication

Reach all employees in a timely manner, even those without a designated working space

Enable employees to share their voice

Encourage employees to become brand ambassadors

Measure the impact of workplace communication on the overall business success

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Leadership vs. Management: the 5 Main Differences

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What is the main difference between leadership and management? While many of you may think that these two terms mean the same thing, this is not the case. Moreover, leaders and managers can possess some very different skills and characteristics which we will cover later in this blog.

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Sharpening Your Communication Skills: Part 1 - Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

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Which Of These Different Communication Styles Do You Use?

Communication styles define the ways we give and receive information. But do you understand your communication style? And how people respond to you?

Research and assessment identifies four different communication styles based on levels of emotion and linearity in how we give and get information: Analytical, Functional, Intuitive and Personal. But you need to know your own, and others', communication styles to become an effective communicator.

COMMUNICATION STYLES QUIZ

What's your communication style? Do you like communicating with lots of data or do you prefer to focus on feelings? Assertive communication or more passive communication? Do you like conversation that goes step-by-step or would you rather jump right to the end point? Take the Communication Styles Quiz now!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

It's time to really understand your preferred communication style and to learn how to flex outside of it to effectively reach audiences of all communication styles. We're going to dig deep into the different communication styles, but feel free to jump to any section that interests you:

No one style of communication is inherently better than another. But picking the wrong type of communication for a particular conversation or audience, whether it's one person or a thousand, can negatively impact how your ideas and messages are received. Building communication flexibility allows you to choose a different style to customize your message to the preferred communication style(s) of your audience and ensures that your message is heard.

Now that you have your communication styles assessment results and you know your preferred style, let's dig deeper into each of the four communication styles: Analytical, Functional, Intuitive and Personal.

Here's a quick overview of the four communication styles:

Intuitive communicators are unemotional and freeform. They want bottom-line communications that are short and to the point and that don't waste their time.

Analytical communicators are unemotional but linear. They want confident communications that convey expertise including hard facts and numbers.

Functional communicators are emotional and linear. They like to have control of the process, so give them process-oriented and linear communications that start at A, and then flow from B to C and all the way to Z.

Personal communicators are emotional and freeform. They want to establish an interpersonal relationship, so use emotional language in an informal, friendly and warm way that gets them involved in talking about factors including who else will be involved and how what you're asking them to do will impact their feelings.

Remember that no one communication style is inherently better than another. The key to effective communication is using the verbal communication style that best ensures your message will be heard.

One major philosophical difference that separates the four communication styles is the extent to which you communicate with emotions or with data. For example, would you say something like "I feel like we're off to a good start this quarter" (emotions), or would you say "this quarter, sales are up by 7.2%"(data).

Another major philosophical difference is the extent to which you communicate in a linear way (e.g. you like to start with A then B then C then D going all the way to Z) or in a freeform way (e.g. you like to skip over most of the details and jump right to Z).

Of course, there's a lot more to the four communication styles than just these two philosophical differences. But as a starting point, these are emblematic of the myriad ways that we like to communicate.Now let's take a deeper dive...

As an Analytical communicator, you like communicating with hard data, real numbers, and you tend to be suspicious of people who aren't in command of the facts and data. You typically like very specific language and dislike vague language. For example, when someone tells you that "sales are positive" you're likely to think "What the heck does positive mean? Is it 5.2% or 8.9%? Give me a number!" People who naturally prefer an Analytical communication style often have little patience for communication that includes lots of feeling and emotional words.

One big plus of having an Analytical communication style is that because you like communication to be fairly unemotional, you're often able to look at issues logically and dispassionately. This means others tend to see you as having high levels of data and informational expertise and they'll often consider you a deep thinker. You may also be called upon during intense decision making processes.

The potential downside of having an Analytical communication style is that you may strike certain people as unfeeling or that you possess an aggressive communication style. For example, when interacting with people like Personal communicators (who tend to like warm and chatty personal relationships) and may have a more passive communication style, it's possible for Analytical communicators to get irritated and terse or even become an aggressive communicator (because they're not getting data or hard numbers, etc.).

This sometimes has negative political and relational consequences. To avoid being seen as an aggressive communicator by your team members, try some pleasantly assertive communication and ask your colleagues, "I'm not sure I understand the specifics of what we're discussing, could we dive deeper into the data so I can get a better handle on this?"

As an Intuitive communicator, you like the big picture, you avoid getting bogged down in details, and you cut right to the chase. You don't need to hear things in perfect linear order but prefer instead a broad overview that lets you easily skip right to the end point. For example, some people, like Functional communicators, will tell you things step-by-step (they start with A, then go to B, then C, then D, then E, etc.). But this can drive you nuts; you'd rather jump right to Z.

One big plus of having an Intuitive communication style is that your communication is quick and to the point. You don't get stalled by needing too many details, and you're comfortable with big ideas and out-of-the-box thinking. Because you're good with thinking big, you can also enjoy challenging convention, which can be great for decision making especially when a group is stuck. It's common for communication styles like this to be seen as having an assertive communication style.

The potential downside of having an Intuitive communication style is that you may not always have enough patience when you're in a situation that actually requires getting into nitty-gritty detail (and you may risk missing an important point). Typically, Intuitive communicators have the most difficulty dealing with Functional communicators (those are the 'process-driven' people, they're very methodical, walk through things step-by-step, and like nitty-gritty detail).

Some people will view the Intuitive as having an assertive communication style (or even an aggressive communication style), and depending on the corporate culture, that may be seen positively or negatively.

As a Functional communicator, you like process, detail, timelines and well-thought-out plans. You like communicating in a step-by-step fashion so nothing gets missed. By contrast, there are some people, like the Intuitive communicators, who like to skip all the detail and just jump right to the end. But this can drive you nuts; especially when you think about all the important bits of information the Intuitive person is potentially missing.

One big plus of having a Functional communication style is that your communication generally hits all the details and nothing gets missed. When you're on a team, people will often turn to you to be the implementer, because they have confidence in your love of process and detail. And because you're focused on things like process and detail, you're the person who is typically asked to play devil's advocate.

The potential downside of having a Functional communication style is that you may risk losing the attention of your audience, especially when you're talking to Intuitive communicators (those are the 'big picture' people who skip to the end and don't get bogged down in too much detail).

As a Personal communicator, you value emotional language and connection, and you use that as your mode of discovering what others are really thinking. You find value in assessing not just how people think, but how they feel. You tend to be a good listener and diplomat, you can smooth over conflicts, and you're typically concerned with the health of your numerous relationships. If there's any communicator who's likely to ask about someone's personal life, it's the Personal communicator.

One big plus of having a Personal communication style is that your communication allows you to build deep personal relationships with others. People will often turn to you as the 'glue' that holds groups together. And you're typically able to pick-up 'vibes' or indirect communication that others may miss because you're attuned to the emotional intelligence aspect of communication.

The potential downside of having a Personal communication style is that you may occasionally be derided as 'touchy-feely.' For example, when dealing with Analytical communicators (people who like data, hard numbers, logical discussions, and dislike that 'warm-and-fuzzy' stuff), it's possible for Personal communicators to become exasperated and emotionally upset. Someone with a more assertive style might deride the Personal communicator as having a submissive communication style or even a passive communication style. But that's incorrect; the Personal style is simply more attuned to emotions.

It's a truism that different professions attract different types of personalities, whether on the frontlines or in leadership. And so too we should expect that different professions will appeal to different communication styles. As you can see in the chart below, drawing from the 1 million+ people that have taken the communication styles quiz, there are significant different across major professional groups.

It's probably not surprising that IT, Finance and Operations have far higher rates of Analytical and Intuitive communicators while HR, Marketing and Sales have many more Personal communicators. The real question is how to leverage this insight to increase our communication skill.

For example, if you're speaking with a group of finance leaders, you may want to prioritize the Analytical or Intuitive communication styles. But if that audience consists of HR or Marketing leaders, then you might prioritize a Personal style.

Tailoring your message to suit your audience does not make you a manipulative communicator. In fact, it's one of the most necessary communication skills. It makes you deeply empathic and high in emotional intelligence, with enough self esteem to recognize that people have different communication styles.

If you were a passive aggressive communicator, or simply lacking real communication skills, you wouldn't change your style to fit your audience. Instead, you'd use your preferred style, and then when the audience reacted poorly, you'd blame them for "not understanding you." But that's NOT what you're doing.

You're making an effort to reframe your message to increase the likelihood that other people understand you. And that's a deeply caring and smart gesture.

The first key to understanding others' preferred communication styles and whether they have a different communication style than you is active listening. You'll be listening to their language while also attending to their nonverbal communication, including their body language and facial expression.

Imagine you're having a conversation with a boss, colleagues or team members . Start by asking them, "what information could I share that would make this a great use of your time?" Each different type of communicator will answer that question differently. And you need that information to pinpoint each different style.

Someone with an Intuitive style of communication might say, "What's the bottom line?," or "Can you give me the short version of this?," or, if they're feeling a bit more patient, "Can we throw some ideas around?" The Intuitive person is an assertive communicator, but it's not done with ill intent. They have a more aggressive style simply because they're less patient and tolerant of long-winded communication.

An Analytical communicator will likely ask you questions about numbers or data like, "Where's your data from?," or "Are we sure that's correct?," or "How do we know?" Like the Intuitive communicator, they might strike some as an aggressive communicator; but it's merely a different communication style. It's not intentionally aggressive communication, it's just a quest for hard data rather than feelings.

Someone with a Functional style of communication might ask, "What's the process?," "What happens first?," or "Who does what?"

A Personal communicator will use far more feeling words, and might ask, "Who will be involved? " or "How do they/you feel?" As noted previously, these are not the questions of a passive communicator, rather they're the interests of someone more focused on emotional intelligence than data.

If for some reason you weren't able to start your conversation by asking "what can I share with you?," you can simply watch the other person's body language. If you start to see eye rolls, boredom, crossing arms, finger tapping etc., those are good signs that of the 4 communication styles, you chose the wrong one. So in that case, choose the opposite style, alter your language, and get your conversation back on track.

Having great communication skill requires interacting and speaking all 4 communication styles. And every leadership team and corporate culture will have a different dominant style. So you'll want to assess your audience, whether one person or a group, to determine which of the 4 styles of communication you're dealing with. Depending on which of the different communication styles you're dealing with, your conversation or presentation will require very different approaches.

It should also be noted that it's common for leadership communication styles to significantly influence the styles of frontline employees. After all, leaders will often set the tone and culture for their workplace, and that includes the ways in which people communicate.

How to avoid being an aggressive communicator

What's the secret to avoiding aggressive communication? First you'll need a dose of self awareness, and then second, you ask a question to get a sense of what someone wants to hear. Take a deep breath, make eye contact with your colleagues, and ask them, "What would you most like to hear about?"

Aggressive communicators often barrel into conversations thinking only about what they want to say, without giving much importance to what their colleagues, coworkers, client, etc. want to hear. Everyone has inadvertently used this aggressive communication style on occasion, but if we have the self awareness to admit the folly of this approach, we can correct it quickly.

To avoid aggressive communication, before you storm through the workplace saying whatever pops into your head, try this approach.

Depending on your particular situation, you could also ask, "What's the one thing you would most like to hear from me today?" or "What could I share with you?" Any number of variations will work, as long as you're letting your coworkers enter the conversation by telling you what they want to hear.

Aggressive communicators focus on what they want to say and give little importance to what their audience wants to hear. Don't be that person. A conversation requires two-way interaction; it's not a conversation when we talk and the other person is force to passively listen.

By simply asking what your colleagues want to hear, you can avoid misunderstandings, conflict, and confrontations. Far too many miscommunications stem from one person, usually under stress, blurting out a stream of anger filled words. But when you pause and invite your coworker to share what THEY want to hear, you instantly transform aggressive communication into a two-way conversation.

How to stop an aggressive communicator

At some point in your career, a person with an aggressive communication style is going to barge into your office and verbally unload on you with anger, stress, accusations, etc. You'll likely feel like you should respond by defending yourself and launching a counter attack, but that's actually the wrong approach. If you respond to an aggressive communication style by employing similarly aggressive communication, that will only inflame the conflict.

Instead, used these advanced communication habits. Breathe, make eye contact with that aggressive communicator, and say, "Wow, I think I need a second here." Then, after a 2-3 second pause say, "You sound really angry (or upset, frustrated, and so on).."

The first phrase signals to aggressive communicators that they've lost control, they're too angry, and that they're entering into dangerous (and even fireable) territory. Ironically, if you tell an aggressive communicator to "calm down" all that happens is they get even angrier. But when you say "Wow, I think I need a second here," you've essentially told that person that their utterance is so angry and outside the norm that you literally need to pause in order to absorb it.

How to prevent passive aggressive communication in your workplace

Passive aggressive communication occurs when we're not upfront with our team members and colleagues about what types of information we really need.

Passive aggressive communicators appear harmonious, but it's an artificial harmony. Beneath the surface lies a fundamental disagreement that the passive aggressive communicator is afraid or unwilling to share. In a culture filled with assertive communication, team members would openly share their issues and disagreements and nobody would experience the silent treatment.

In an organization where bad news doesn't get discussed and mistakes regularly get swept under the rug, or where there's a "kill the messenger" management style present, there's likely to be a great deal of passive aggressive communication. Everyone on the team may appear to be in total agreement, but that's only because they're afraid or reluctant to share what they're really thinking.

In a recent study on Executive Team effectiveness, we asked over one thousand senior executives to assess their team. And as you can see in the chart below, even on senior teams there is a sizeable amount of passive aggressive communication.

If you suspect your team suffers from passive aggressive communicators, you will have to intentionally "draw out" those passive communicators and push past the silent treatment.

Guided by a mindset of creating psychological safety, you'll need to help colleagues feel safe and comfortable sharing their disagreement.

One way to do this is in meetings (where passive aggressive behavior often occurs) by asking people: "What are we missing?" or "Where are we at risk?" To intensify this exercise, and develop advanced communication habits, make eye contact with each person on the team and, one-by one, ask each of them one of those questions.

The more you actively "mine for disagreement," the more you'll get passive communicators comfortable with sharing their dissent. And that's how you'll ultimately stop passive aggressive communication.

PRACTICE ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION

Assertive communication (aka assertiveness) is the genuine expression of feelings, desires, and needs. It occurs in the context of standing up for your personal rights, getting what you want, and standing up for yourself. Assertive communicators are able to honestly express personal needs and desires without limiting the rights of others.

An assertive communication style is considered a social skill, and requires the belief that one is as good as anyone else; that one's needs and desires are just as important as another's, although precedence can take place for one or the other at any time.

Some people are too passive ("He/she is more important than me" a lose-win) or too aggressive ("I'm more important than he/she is" a win-lose) instead of partnering in an assertive style for a win-win ("We're all equals here who deserve to be heard").

Assertive communicators believe that they have a right to be heard and have their needs met. That means if you're sitting in a meeting and you feel like nobody is listening to you or that you haven't heard the information you need, you shouldn't sit there and act passive on the surface. Instead, raise your hand, make eye contact with the people in the room and, in a measured tone, say something like, "There are some pieces I'm missing here, so I'd like to go back and revisit a few of these issues."

This will often require us to reframe some of our self-limiting beliefs. Beliefs like, "If I say no, he/she won't be my friend anymore," are rarely grounded in reality, yet we let them stop us from practicing assertive communication.

Disprove self-limiting beliefs with a quick self-audit that asks: "Is there a structurally sound counter argument to this belief?" A good counter argument might sound like: "If this person is pressuring me into doing something I don't want to do, are they even my friend in the first place?"

Recommended For You

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Communication Styles Quiz: Which Of These Different Communication Styles Do You Use?

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Communication styles define the ways we give and receive information. Research identifies four communication styles based on levels of emotion and linearity in how we give and get information: Analytical, Functional, Intuitive and Personal. But you need to know your own, and others', communication styles to become an effective communicator.