Project Leadership vs Management: 4 Key Differences
While these two roles may sound the same, a project leader and a project manager operate in different ways.
Leadership and management are two completely different concepts. While one inspires, the other directs with the goal of creating a powerful end result.
Knowing the key differences between a project leader and a project manager is essential to understanding what to expect from each role and how to factor these positions into the project lifecycle.
What is a Project Leader?
A project leader sets the initial direction and tone of the project. With the ability to inspire and influence the team, project managers are best known for guiding employees throughout the project lifecycle, building trust, empowering others to make decisions, and challenging the status quo.
Project leaders are constantly asking those ‘why’ and ‘what if’ questions to help teams see beyond rigid frameworks.
“Project leaders go beyond the mechanics of managing a project. They face the challenge of being strategists, setting a project’s direction, aligning people, and motivating the team,” says Jeannette, the CEO of Lurdez Consulting Group.
“They need to develop people-oriented skills because their goal is to influence the team to accomplish the project’s objectives in a manner that meets or exceeds expectations.”
According to PMI, teams that prioritize leadership development during the project process see 38% more projects meet their original goals and business intent.
It’s no secret that positive leadership directly impacts team engagement and motivation, helping organizations deliver impressive results.
What is a Project Manager?
A project manager dives deeper into the details. With a more hands-on role in the project management life cycle, a project manager focuses on defining the project scope, creating an effective timeline, and monitoring team progress throughout the process.
Project managers are more consistent than project leaders. In most cases, team members work alongside their project manager throughout the campaign and can access help and advice instantly.
Project management is essential for providing the structure projects need to function. They establish processes, set baselines, and find solutions to any roadblocks that deviate from the plan.
Their systematic approach helps reduce risks throughout the project life cycle and keeps teams on track and committed to the end result.
Project Leader vs Project Manager: 4 Key Differences to Explore
Now that we’ve learned what a project manager is vs a project leader, let’s dive a little deeper and explore how they approach their roles in more detail.
Here are four key differences to explore before your team undertakes its next project.
Planning vs Problem Solving
Project leaders often engage in the planning process, while project managers actively initiate those plans and problem-solve along the way.
Project leaders play a key role in creating the blueprint for the project. It’s up to them to outline key deliverables, resource requirements, and the strategic framework that helps put the plan into practice.
Project managers then take this plan and execute it. It’s up to them to solve any problems, fix any bottlenecks, and report on the progress. Together, a project leader and project manager help create and run the entire project lifecycle, ensuring that any roadblocks are mitigated early and the team stays on track.
Specialists vs Generalists
Project leaders are known for focusing on the big picture. They know how to visualize the project, its timeline, and provide their team members with a strong direction to follow.
This makes them brilliant generalists who can help motivate the team and create an initial starting point for the project.
However, it’s up to the project manager to coordinate the team and ensure that risks and bottlenecks are prevented.
Because of this, they ended up being project specialists with the key analytical skills needed to ensure the project runs smoothly.
Inspiring Employees vs Directing Teams
The way project leaders and project managers interact with the team also differs quite drastically.
Project leaders have a lot of personal credibility. They tend to be the most senior staff members in the room and instantly create followership through trust and their expertise within the industry. While they are less likely to communicate with the team on a regular basis, when they do, their aim is to influence and motivate, rather than direct.
Project managers have a harder role in this instance. As a consistent member of the team, they direct through formal authority and are in charge of assigning tasks and responsibilities throughout the project life cycle.
With this comes accountability. Project managers are often held accountable for any issues, deadline delays and face the consequences as the captain of the ship.
Playing it Safe vs Taking a Risk
Project managers are known for maintaining the status quo. It’s their job to ensure that the schedule, budget, and quality of the project are in check and are in charge of directing team members throughout.
Because of this, the project managers take fewer risks. In order to keep operations running smoothly, they take an analytical approach and rarely steer away from the original framework.
In contrast, project leaders have much more freedom to think outside the box. Their aim is to find new ways of doing things and strive for constant improvement. For this reason, they tend to take more risks.
The best projects come from managers and leaders who balance each other out. While risk-taking is important in a moving market, stability and playing it safe can be crucial to guarantee timely success.
Project Leader or Project Manager? Which is the More Important Role?
There’s no clear answer to this question. Both project managers and project leaders must work together to run a successful project.
While a project leader often has more expertise within their field, the project simply can’t go ahead without the project manager pulling the strings.
