The terms “leadership” and “management” are often interchangeable. But leaders and managers differ significantly in their roles and impact. Leadership is not just about achieving the end goal; it’s about empowering everyone involved and creating a positive impact.
On the other hand, management is usually focused on the goal, with little to no regard for guidance or motivation to the people working to achieve that goal. Leadership has a people-driven approach, whereas management has a more goal-driven approach to achieving a target. Take a look at some inspirational leadership vs. management quotes that’ll inspire you to forge your path.
40 Leadership Vs. Management Quotes
#1. “Managers light a fire under people; leaders light a fire in people.” — Kathy Austin
#2. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker
#3. “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” — Stephen R. Covey
#4. “The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.” — Warren G. Bennis
#5. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want to be done because he wants to do it.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
#6. “Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline and carrying it out.” — Stephen Covey
#7. “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” — Peter Drucker
#8. “The way management treats associates is exactly how the associates will treat the customers.” — Sam Walton
#9. “Management’s job is to convey leadership’s message in a compelling and inspiring way. Not just in meetings, but also by example.” — Jeffrey Gitomer
#10. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” — Jack Welch
#11. “Leadership is working with goals and vision; management is working with objectives.” — Russel Honore
#12. “Management is nothing more than motivating other people.” — Lee Iacocca
#13. “When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business remains intact.” — Warren Buffett
#14. “A key to achieving success is to assemble a strong and stable management team.” — Vivek Wadhwa
#15. “A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him.” — Lao Tzu
#16. “The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.” — James Cash Penney
#17. “You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington.” — Grace Hopper
#18. “Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.” — Colin Powell
#19. “To lead people, walk beside them.” — Lao-Tzu
#20. “The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.” — Anthea Turner
#21. “Corporate culture matters. How management chooses to treat its people impacts everything — for better or for worse.” — Simon Sinek
#22. “Great leaders know when to step aside.” — Tara Jaye Frank
#23. “What should be the aim of management? What is their job? Quality is the responsibility of the top people. Its origin is in the boardroom. They are the ones who decide.” — W. Edwards Deming
#24. “Brag about what your people and team are doing. Build them up and help them find their voice.” — Stephanie Matthews
#25. “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.” — Douglas MacArthur
#26. “Leadership and management are different and distinct.” — John Kotter
#27. “Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.” — John D. Rockefeller
#28. “Management works in the system; leadership works on the system.” — Stephen Covey
#29. “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” — Ronald Reagan
#30. “Management and leadership are separate roles, but they aren’t necessarily multiple people.” — Dr. Dean McCall
#31. “A leader gets others to want what s/he wants; management is about daily task-by-task oversight.” — D. Marker
#32. “A man should never be appointed into a managerial position if his vision focuses on people’s weaknesses rather than on their strengths.” — Peter Drucker
#33. “Leadership focuses on people. Management focuses on performance.” — Unknown
#34. “Leaders and managers serve a valuable purpose. Both are needed for an organization to succeed.” — Coach Gwen
#35. “The managerial personality is pragmatic. Without the manager there would be no planning, no order, no predictability.” — Michael E. Gerber
#36. “Leadership is not a function but is instead a relationship, whereas management is a function.” — M. Maccoby
#37. “One doesn’t have to be a manager to be a leader.” — L. Bolman & T. Deal
#38. “Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” — Tom Peters
#39. “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.” — Colin Powell
#40. “A leader is the one who can outline the broad vision and the direction and say, here’s where we are going to go, here’s why we need to go there, and here’s how we are going to get there. A manager is the one who actually gets up under the hood and tunes the carburetor.” — Mike Huckabee
