FBC – 396 – Manager vs Leader. What’s better?

Manager vs Leader. What's better?

If you were given a choice, would you rather be a leader or managing people?

Which option is the most advancing for your career and your life in general?

In today's episode, we are going to break down the 2 options and help you choose the right path for you based on who you are as a person

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I heard this in a book that I was listening to and it reminded me of something I asked myself for quite a long time.

And to be honest, I'm just going to think out loud because these podcasts, they're kind of like spontaneous. But here in this case, it's not like I've prepared anything.

But anyway, the subject is the difference between management and leadership, OK? Because these are different concepts, if you ask me but it's very hard to define them and separate them.

So I've been asking myself, what's the difference? Would I rather be a leader or a manager?

So starting with the manager. I mean, now that I think about it, for me, they're very different. I have my own interpretation of it. I haven't checked the definition in the dictionary or something. So this is primarily and only based on my take on this.

And so I was thinking that management for me is more of an operational role. I will say more operational where I think that leadership will be more kind of like spiritual and mind set or something. If I'm looking at these two words and thinking about them, this is how I will define them based on my appreciation in my personal story.

So now the question is how to manage people. You know, I managed a few teams and stuff and the question is how good the manager was. So was I a good manager? Because now when I'm thinking about it again, everything is tangled together.

So it's very hard to kind of like extract the management part from the leadership part and look at the tasks. But if you ask people, you might have some very different answers. I think my management style was unique. You can ask anybody who was working on my team or any of the teams that I've managed.

And I don't think I was a good manager from the definition of management, you know, like the proper thing. And in organizing this and doing all the KPIs and the reviews together and follow up this and checking people's work and all that kind of stuff, I think I sucked at it.

I, admit this is really not what I want to do. For example here in my company, I'm not actually managing anybody. As strange as it might sound, I don't consider being their manager or anything, because of the way it's structured.

Manager vs Leader. What's better?

For my staff, in essence, they're their own managers. They don't need me to manage them because I don't want to do it. Who wants to manage people? I think people are smart enough and responsible enough. The people that I choose to work with me in the company, I think they're mature enough to manage themselves so that I don't have to do it.

But management is important. If you have bad management, you can have good leadership and bad management, and then things will suck.

Even though there is a great leadership, you still need some good management. OK, so it's not like you can be bad, like you can get away with one being horrible.

The leadership role for me, it's more spiritual, so the leadership is kind of like passing values and the right mind set and empowering people and getting these people to achieve greater things and all move in the same direction.

OK, which is also, you know, when you're a manager, you have to do some of that stuff. But I think it's the leadership role that’s most important. Showing your example. You're just showing the example. It's not you guys have to do this and all that kind of stuff, but you are in there as well showing the kind of the direction of the company, the value.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a manager and a leader?

Martin sees management as an operational role focused on running processes and keeping things working day to day. Leadership, by contrast, is more about mindset, vision, and inspiring people. The two concepts overlap and are hard to separate cleanly, but for him management is doing while leadership is guiding and influencing others.

Should you aim to be a leader or a manager?

It depends on who you are as a person. Martin encourages you to weigh the operational nature of management against the visionary nature of leadership and choose the path that fits your strengths. Neither is automatically better; the right choice advances your career and life because it matches your own natural temperament.

Is leadership more valuable than management?

Not necessarily. Martin argues both are essential, just different. Leadership sets direction and lifts people through vision and mindset, while management makes sure the work actually gets executed properly. Many successful operations need both functions, whether held in one person or split across a team. Value depends on context, not on the label.

Can the same person be both a manager and a leader?

Yes, though the two demand different mindsets. Martin notes the roles are genuinely distinct, so balancing them takes real self awareness. Some people lean naturally toward operational management, others toward visionary leadership. The strongest operators learn to switch between guiding people and getting things done, applying whichever the situation in front of them calls for.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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