Leadership scholars present two distinct perspectives regarding the differentiation of leaders and managers. One school of thought posits that leaders are primarily agents of positive change in an organization, while managers are responsible for maintaining the status quo and optimizing routine task performance. This perspective implies that effective management, in itself, does not equate to leadership unless an individual also initiates significant positive change. Prominent scholars such as Zaleznik, Kotter, and Nohria endorse this view, emphasizing change as a prerequisite for leadership.

Other scholars disagree with this dichotomy. They assert that good managers are also leaders if they influence others to follow them. Thus, according to them, good managers may also be good leaders, and leadership may not necessarily involve any change in organizations. An example of such a scholar is Lorsch, who explains, “… an individual is a leader whether she is a senior executive leading an effort to change the strategic direction of her company or is a supervisor leading a group of workers on an assembly line. … True, she faces different task, organizational, and relationship issues, but the goal is the same – influencing others to follow her.” 

I agree with the latter viewpoint. In the corporate world, the term "manager" (e.g., assistant manager, general manager) is commonly used across various organizational levels, while "leader" is rarely a formal title. Yet, organizations universally expect these managers to exhibit strong leadership qualities. Consequently, a significant portion of training budgets is allocated to developing managers' leadership skills.

Leading is one of the four key functions of management, alongside planning, organizing, and controlling, as illustrated in Figure 2. This fundamental responsibility of managers shows the intrinsic link between management and leadership. Therefore, managers must cultivate their leadership abilities to excel in their roles as managers.

Furthermore, Henry Mintzberg's framework, as depicted in Figure 3, also includes the role of a “leader” among his famous list of ten managerial roles of a manager. Thus, it is clear that leading is a vital component of management, and managers are expected to display good leadership skills.

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