Read the following discussion and give response: There is definitely a difference between a manager and a

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Read the following discussion and give response:

There is definitely a difference between a manager and a leader and both, I think, are necessary for a successful organization. In my mind a leader is someone with inherent traits that make others wants to follow them, while managers are individuals who simply communicate goals and expectations. Leadership is about respect, confidence and even a little bit of admiration. A leader is someone that people look to for guidance because they have the ability to think proactively instead of reactively. A manager is more analytical than a leader, they plan and problem solve according to the goals of the organization. That is not to say that being a manger and not a leader is negative. I’ve known some very good managers who didn’t have leadership qualities; they were able to keep employees productive and on track without necessarily inspiring them. A leader has more of a motivational aspect and gets people to want to meet those goals on a personal level.

This discussion brought to mind an experience I had when I played for a co-ed (very non-professional) baseball league. We had a guy on our team who really wasn’t the best physical player, but was able to think outside of the box and had the ability to pump us up when things weren’t going our way. We did have a manager, but he was a by the numbers kind of guy – meaning he knew what to do in any given situation, but he didn’t really motivate us. My teammate always thought positively and had so much energy that it inevitably spread to everyone on the team. He definitely inspired and encouraged us to have fun and do our best. We found that on the days that he wasn’t there we noticed the difference in team morale, we still had fun without him but we didn’t have that same spark as when he was around. I guess what I’m saying is that we needed our manager for the systematic approach to baseball, but we also needed our teammate to give us that extra push and inspiration to play for each other and for him.