I wholeheartedly agree with Christina’s opinion and experience that there is a huge difference between leaders and managers. I’ve read frequently that leaders know where to go and managers know how to get there. Also, that leaders know what needs to be done and managers know how to do it.
As for Christina’s question, “Have you personally experienced the stark differences between a leader and a manager?” I have 3 great examples in my personal experience of how managers failed as leaders. Each example is a pastor in a large church. The first case, the pastor was a famous preacher, author, speaker, etc. but under his “leadership” the church declined and almost closed because he wasn’t acting as a leader. The second example involved a pastor who was great at interpersonal relationships, an excellent counsellor and a better-than-average preacher. In one month, though, four key leaders all resigned because he was not acting as a leader. The third example, the “leader” who, in essence was a manager, saw an aggressively growing church plateau because he wasn’t acting as a good leader. I think these examples demonstrate what Christina pointed is that there is a major difference between leaders and managers.