1. The differences between a manager and a leader are quite obvious in the workforce. Managers tend to adhere to strict authoritarianism assigning tasks, deadlines, holding people accountable. Leaders tend to inspire their employees to think outside the box and empower their teams to do great things by taking risks, learning from mistakes, and develop new processes that drive innovation. In my line of work, I have seen both managers and leaders. The morale in the group I was in with a strict manager was very low however, the manager did drive results. The group I was in with a great leader was completely different culture and the morale was very high and the productivity of the group was very high.
3. I think a good approach is to have traits of both a leader and a manager. A fundamental part of management is setting expectations for the team, creating strategic goals, monitoring progress, and holding the team accountable. However, the use of soft skills such as communication style, management style, should be flexible to what works best for each individual on the team. Empathy and coaching the team along the way as well as celebrating small wins via recognition, lunches, etc. goes a long way toward building trust and building relationships between not only the manager and the team members but also brings the team members closer together. Another good strategy is to share the vision for the team. Show the benefits of going down a particular path and get support from the team before embarking down that journey. Employees want to feel empowered and part of the solution. When that happens, productivity rises, morale rises, and employees are more likely to stay at their job because they feel valued.

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