Leadership v Managers - and Why Followship Matters

Episode 2

Understanding the difference between a leader vs manager is one of the most transformative shifts in modern leadership.

In this episode, I break down what it really looks like to lead people and manage things, and why confusing the two creates overwhelm, tension and disengagement.

You’ll also explore the essential but often overlooked concept of followship: why people choose to follow, how trust is built, and what this means for your everyday leadership practice.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The true meaning of leader vs manager

• Why leaders create conditions for people to choose to follow

• How managers rely on control, direction and task focus

• The behaviours that distinguish leadership from management

• How followship reflects the quality of your leadership

• Why people follow consistency, clarity and humanity

• Practical reflection questions to help you shift your approach

This episode is perfect for you if:

• You’re unsure whether you’re leading or managing most of the time

• You want to strengthen trust and confidence in your team

• You struggle with balancing policy with people

• You want to be a more intentional, present and human leader

• You want to understand what people truly need from you.

Want to go deeper into followship?

I have written a dedicated blog exploring what followership really means and why it is the heart of effective leadership. Click the image below.

Read the Transcript Below (please note this was generated by AI so there may be errors)

0:08 - 0:37)

Welcome to the Leadership and Management Reset podcast, the space where we rethink how we lead and reconnect with who we are as leaders. I'm Sharon Smith, Leadership Coach, Mentor and Founder of Own Your Leadership. Each episode I'll discuss leadership development, sure confidence building tools and emotionally intelligent strategies to help you navigate the real challenges of leadership with more clarity, calm and intention. 

(0:37 - 1:11)

Whether you're stepping into a new leadership role, growing your leadership identity or simply wanting to lead in a more grounded, human way, this podcast is your opportunity to pause, reset and realign. Let's get started. Hello leaders and welcome back to the Leadership and Management Reset podcast.

(1:12 - 1:36)

I'm Sharon Smith, Leadership Coach, Mentor, Thinking Partner and someone who spent many years observing what leadership looks like behind the scenes. The emotions, the pressure and the complexity and the deeply human moments that so many people never really talk about. Today we're diving into something that almost every leader grapples with, whether they're brand new or 10 years into the role.

(1:37 - 2:48)

And what I'm talking about here is the difference between being a leader versus manager and what that actually means, how it feels day to day and why understanding that distinction might be the thing that changes everything. Because once you see the difference between leader versus manager clearly, you start showing up differently, you start communicating differently, your decision making shifts, your team responds differently and leadership becomes much lighter, clearer and more importantly, more intentional. I also want to connect this to something incredibly important and that's followership.

Because leadership only exists when people willingly choose to follow you and that piece is often missed. So settle in and let's explore what it really means to lead people and manage things and how that shows up in real leadership practise. So why are we getting confused between leader versus manager? Most leaders step into their roles without ever being taught the difference between leader versus manager.

(2:50 - 3:07)

They might have been promoted because they were great at the job they used to do. They were competent, reliable, trusted and someone thought, yes, you'll make a brilliant leader. But being good at a role isn't the same as knowing how to lead human beings.

(3:08 - 3:32)

So what happens? We default to what we know. We start to manage. We manage deadlines, we manage spreadsheets, we manage tasks, to-do lists, weekly updates, KPIs and without realising it, we start to try to manage people in the same way.

(3:34 - 3:42)

Those leaders try to fix people. Or control outcomes. Or micromanage to get certainty.

(3:43 - 3:54)

You know what it's like, that fear of handing something over. You'd rather do it yourself or you'd rather do it all over someone to make sure that the job's done. Equally, you might step in too soon instead of coaching.

(3:54 - 4:10)

Or focus so much on output that people feel like walking to-do lists rather than being human beings. But here's the core truth that underpins today's episode. We lead people and we manage things 

(4:12 - 4:26)

And trying to manage people leads to overwhelm for you and disengagement for them. No wonder so many leaders feel stuck, frustrated or completely unsupported. They've been handed the title but not the tools.

(4:27 - 4:35)

And yes, we absolutely do have people management procedures. We've got absence management. We've got mobility.

(4:35 - 4:43)

We've got conduct policies. And those are all extremely important. They exist to provide structure and fairness.

(4:43 - 4:55)

And actually to help you as a manager do things correctly. To keep you right. But that is not the same as managing people every day.

(4:56 - 5:12)

The day-to-day part of your role is leadership. It's influence, communication, clarity, coaching, listening, supporting. It's about how you turn up.

(5:13 - 5:28)

So when we talk about leader versus manager, what we're really talking about is the difference between controlling and guiding. Directive and coaching orientated. Compliance and commitment.

(5:29 - 5:51)

Holding power and sharing responsibility. And this is where the real shift begins. So how do leaders turn up versus how managers turn up? Let's break down the leader versus manager difference in a really practical lived experience way.

(5:52 - 6:08)

Perhaps a way that you'll actually recognise in your own behaviour and in the behaviour of others. So how do managers turn up? Managers tend to show up as task first. The directive is do this, then do that.

(6:09 - 6:19)

They're focused on getting things done quickly. They're preferring structure and certainty. They're more comfortable with processes than with emotions 

(6:19 - 6:31)

They want to avoid mistakes. They often are firefighting and often overwhelmed by volume and pressure. Again, management is not wrong 

(6:32 - 6:43)

It keeps the system running. It provides consistency, clarity and safety, and it's essential. But management alone is not enough to create a healthy, motivated, collaborative team.

(6:45 - 6:54)

Let's compare with how leaders turn up. Leaders turn up with curiosity instead of immediate solutions. They have a people-first thinking.

(6:55 - 7:07)

They have a coaching approach where they're curious and ask questions. They're emotionally aware of everyone in their team. Clarity and communication is important to them 

(7:08 - 7:24)

They have a long term lens instead of short term fixes. There is a focus on culture, relationships and trust. Consistent behaviour that creates psychological safety 

(7:25 - 7:40)

The ability to step back instead of stepping in. And they encourage rather than control. Leadership is about creating the conditions for people to succeed.

(7:40 - 7:53)

It's not about doing the work for them. It's about unlocking people rather than directing them. And the clearest way to describe the leader versus manager difference is this.

(7:55 - 8:11)

Managers get compliance. Leaders inspire commitment. People will give you the bare minimum if they're being managed, but they'll give you their best, their ideas, their creativity, their trust if they're being led.

(8:11 - 8:22)

People will go the extra mile for a good leader. And there's a real tight rope between leading people while managing procedures. And I get that.

(8:22 - 8:32)

I've walked that tightrope many a time. Here's where the tension really lands for many leaders. You absolutely do need to follow procedures.

(8:33 - 8:44)

You do need to use policy when it's appropriate. You do need to manage certain things. Performance concerns, attendance issues, well-being flags.

(8:45 - 8:56)

That's responsible leadership. But you cannot lead people through the language of policy. You cannot build trust by quoting procedure.

(8:57 - 9:11)

And you cannot create followership by pointing at the rulebook. So the tightrope looks like this. We use policy when needed and we use leadership every day.

(9:12 - 9:30)

Policy is your safety net. It's not your leadership style. Leadership is what happens in conversations, in your presence, in your decisions, in your consistency, in your fairness, and how you make people feel.

(9:32 - 9:45)

This is where the leader versus manager balance becomes a moving dance. And this is why followership still matters. This is the part most leadership conversations miss entirely.

(9:46 - 9:58)

And it's one of the most powerful elements of your philosophy. Even in a leader versus manager discussion, none of it matters without followership. Because leadership only exists when someone chooses to follow you. 

(10:00 - 11:00)

Followership asks you to look inwards and ask, why would people choose to follow me? How does my behaviour make people feel? Am I consistent enough for them to trust me? Am I clear enough for them to understand me? Do I create a space where people feel safe being honest? Do I model the values I expect from them? Do I listen before I lead? Do I lead with humanity, not hierarchy? Are people following me or tolerating me? Followership is a mirror held up to your leadership. And people follow leaders who communicate honestly, who show fairness and integrity, who acknowledge their mistakes and make making mistakes okay. They're opportunities for growth and further learning.

(11:01 - 11:12)

They create clarity. And they invite input from everybody in their team. They coach rather than control. 

(11:13 - 11:29)

But they hold consistently their boundaries. And they deeply show their vulnerability and their humanity in the hard moments. And they act with intention rather than with emotion.

(11:30 - 11:48)

They're regulated and really intentional in how they respond. Followership is not passive. It's active, conscious, relational, and built through thousands of micro moments.

(11:51 - 12:07)

You can have authority without followership, but you cannot have leadership without it. So where do you sit on the leader versus manager spectrum? This is your thinking space. I want you to take a moment.

(12:07 - 12:54)

You might even want to pause the episode and sit with the following questions. When you look honestly at leader versus manager, where do you naturally operate? Are you trying to manage people instead of leading them? How do your team experience you? Are they following you or complying with you? What one behaviour could you shift this week to become more followable? What is the experience of being led by you? What signals do you give that say you're safe with me? You matter around me. You can grow with me. 

(12:56 - 13:26)

I'm going to put these questions in the show notes so that you can have a look at them if you do decide to pause the episode. As leadership is not about the title on your email signature, it's about the experience you create for other human beings, especially when things are hard. Thanks so much for joining me today and exploring leaders versus managers and how this distinction becomes a foundation of effective leadership, confident teams and meaningful followership.

(13:27 - 13:44)

If this episode has sparked something for you, a reflection, a question and a shift, I would love to hear from you. Your insights help shape the conversations we have here. If you haven't already, please subscribe, leave a review or share this with someone who needs it today. 

(13:45 - 14:15)

And until next time, keep choosing the version of leadership that feels true, grounded and human. Because when you own your leadership, you create a sustainable impact without overwhelm. Thank you for joining me on the Leadership and Management Reset podcast.

(14:15 - 14:35)

I hope today's conversation has given you something to reflect on, whether that's a new insight, a practical strategy, or simply permission to lead in a way that feels more authentic to you. If you're enjoying the podcast, you can support it by following, rating or leaving a review. It helps other leaders find this space and gives me a sense of what's landing well for you. 

(14:36 - 15:00)

And if you'd like regular guidance and inspiration, make sure you sign up to my weekly newsletter, where I share leadership reflections, weekly emails and fortnightly blogs and podcast episodes to help deepen your practise. If there's something you'd like me to explore in a future episode, a question, a challenge, or perhaps a topic you're navigating, I'd love to hear from you. This podcast is here to support your leadership journey. 

(15:00 - 15:06)

So until the next time, lead with intention and own your leadership. See you soon.