Discover the difference between leadership and leader. Learn why leadership is a process anyone can practice, not just a position someone holds.
Written by Laura Bouttell • Tue 30th December 2025
A leader is a person assigned or designated to guide others, whilst leadership is the process of influencing and inspiring people toward shared goals—and crucially, you don't need to be the former to practice the latter. This distinction transforms how we think about influence, development, and organisational effectiveness.
Consider a striking reality in modern organisations: some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders, and many good leaders have no formal authority whatsoever. The project team member who aligns colleagues around a difficult goal, the individual contributor who mentors junior staff, the cross-functional collaborator who breaks down silos—these individuals exercise leadership without holding leader titles.
Understanding the leadership-leader distinction liberates influence from hierarchy. It recognises that leadership is something you do, not something you are—a matter of action rather than position. This perspective opens leadership capability to everyone whilst challenging those with formal authority to actually lead rather than merely occupy positions.
The distinction is categorical: a leader refers to a person, whilst leadership refers to a process or set of actions.
A leader is an individual person who is assigned or delegated to guide a group, team, organisation, or similar entity. Key characteristics include:
A leader is like the captain of a ship—positioned at the helm, expected to make significant decisions, and visibly identified with that responsibility. Examples include CEOs, managers, team leaders, and department heads.
Leadership, in contrast, is not classified by a person but rather as a process. Leadership can be defined as the action of influencing a group, team, or organisation to help reach its goals. Essential characteristics include:
Leadership is more like steering the ship—the actions of inspiring, guiding, and rallying others toward a common destination. It's the doing, not the being.
| Dimension | Leader | Leadership |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Person/Individual | Process/Action |
| Source | Assigned position | Chosen behaviour |
| Requirement | Formal designation | None—anyone can lead |
| Permanence | Role-bound | Situational |
| Visibility | Position on org chart | Observable actions |
| Dependency | Requires appointment | Requires only initiative |
The leader-leadership distinction has profound implications for how organisations develop capability, distribute influence, and achieve results.
Traditional thinking conflates the person (leader) with the process (leadership), assuming only those in authority positions can lead. This assumption:
Separating the concepts opens leadership to everyone. Individual contributors, project team members, junior employees—anyone can exercise leadership through their actions, regardless of their place on the organisational chart.
Conversely, recognising that holding a leadership position doesn't automatically confer leadership capability challenges managers and executives to earn their influence.
Just because a person is assigned as the leader of a group does not necessarily mean that person has leadership skills. The newly appointed manager may have authority but lack the ability to inspire, align, or motivate their team. Their title makes them a leader; their actions—or lack thereof—determine whether they exercise leadership.
Modern organisations increasingly depend on distributed leadership—influence exercised across levels, functions, and teams by whoever is best positioned to provide it in the moment. This approach:
Absolutely—and this capability increasingly distinguishes high-performers from average contributors.
Leadership without formal authority relies on different foundations than positional power:
Expertise and Credibility Demonstrated competence creates expert power that transcends hierarchy. When colleagues trust your judgement, they follow your guidance regardless of whether you're their boss.
Relationship Investment Influence through genuine connection develops when you show authentic interest in others, consistently deliver on commitments, and build trust through repeated reliable interactions.
Vision and Purpose Articulating meaningful objectives attracts voluntary followership. People engage discretionary effort toward purposes that matter to them, even when direction comes from peers rather than supervisors.
Initiative and Action Leadership often emerges simply by stepping forward. When challenges arise and someone takes constructive action, others naturally follow—regardless of whether that person holds authority.
Understanding this distinction reveals two fundamentally different types of authority:
When people say they "don't have authority" because they lack a title, they're referring to ascribed authority. But titles say nothing about earned authority—the kind that actually generates willing followership. People follow who they trust, regardless of role.
Being designated as a leader doesn't guarantee effective leadership. What actually distinguishes those who lead well?
Leadership is something you do, not something you are. It is a person's actions, rather than their words or job title, that inspire trust and commitment. Effective leaders:
Effective leadership rests on character traits that inform action:
Beyond character, effective leadership requires developed capabilities:
| Effective Leadership Factor | Description |
|---|---|
| Action orientation | Leads through behaviour, not position |
| Character foundation | Integrity, humility, courage, empathy |
| Capability development | Vision, influence, emotional intelligence |
| Relationship investment | Trust-building through consistent reliability |
| Results delivery | Actually achieves shared objectives |
Traditional development focuses on promoting people into leadership positions, then training them. A more effective approach develops leadership capability broadly.
Instead of reserving leadership development for those already in positions, organisations should:
People develop leadership through practice, not just training. Organisations can provide:
Stretch Assignments Projects or responsibilities that require influencing without authority develop leadership muscles that classroom training cannot build.
Cross-Functional Roles Working across organisational boundaries requires persuasion and relationship-building rather than hierarchical authority.
Mentoring Responsibilities Developing others builds leadership skills whilst multiplying organisational capability.
Community Involvement External leadership opportunities in professional associations, charitable organisations, or community groups build transferable capabilities.
What gets measured gets managed. Organisations should assess:
The distinction becomes especially visible when position-holders fail to exercise actual leadership.
Signs that someone holds a leadership position without exercising leadership include:
When designated leaders don't actually lead:
Organisations can address leadership gaps through:
Regardless of current position, individuals can develop their leadership capability.
Self-leadership is the bedrock of influence. Before you can effectively lead others, you must lead yourself—managing your own behaviour, development, and effectiveness. This includes:
Develop the foundations that enable leadership without requiring position:
Expertise Become genuinely expert in areas that matter. Deep competence creates credibility that hierarchy cannot provide. As expertise grows, influence follows naturally.
Relationships Invest authentically in connections with colleagues, stakeholders, and others. Trust accumulated through consistent reliability enables influence when needed.
Reputation Build a track record of delivering results, acting with integrity, and supporting others' success. Reputation precedes you into rooms you haven't yet entered.
Leadership develops through practice. Seek opportunities to:
A leader is a person—an individual designated or recognised to guide others. Leadership is a process—the actions of influencing, inspiring, and guiding people toward shared goals. You can be a leader (hold the position) without exercising leadership (taking the actions), and you can exercise leadership without being formally designated as a leader. The distinction matters because it opens leadership capability to everyone rather than restricting it to position-holders.
Yes. Leadership is about actions, not positions. Anyone can exercise leadership by taking initiative, building relationships, developing expertise, articulating vision, and influencing others toward shared goals. Whilst formal leadership positions provide certain authorities, the actual process of leading—inspiring and guiding others—doesn't require organisational designation. Many of the most effective leaders in organisations have no formal authority.
A true leader earns followership through their actions rather than demanding compliance through their position. Key characteristics include integrity (consistency between values and behaviour), competence (capability that generates credibility), genuine care for others' success, clear communication of vision and expectations, and consistent delivery on commitments. True leadership is recognised by others' willing choice to follow, not by organisational charts.
Develop leadership through practice: take initiative on challenges, build expertise that creates credibility, invest in relationships that enable influence, mentor and develop others informally, articulate vision that helps colleagues see meaning in their work, and step forward when situations require someone to lead. Every interaction is a leadership development opportunity. The most effective formal leaders often developed their capability before reaching leadership positions.
Some position-holders fail at leadership because they rely on authority rather than earning influence, lack the skills to inspire and align others, fear making difficult decisions, prioritise their own advancement over team success, or simply don't invest effort in the leadership process. Holding a leadership position doesn't automatically confer leadership capability—that must be developed through deliberate practice and genuine commitment to others' success.
Management and leadership overlap but differ in emphasis. Management focuses on processes—planning, organising, controlling, and directing work to achieve defined objectives. Leadership focuses on people—inspiring, influencing, and aligning them toward shared vision. Effective managers need leadership capability; effective leaders often need management skills. Both are distinct from being "a leader" (position) or practicing "leadership" (process).
Organisations develop distributed leadership by identifying potential early (regardless of current level), providing practice opportunities (stretch assignments, cross-functional projects, mentoring roles), recognising leadership wherever it occurs, measuring leadership behaviours (not just managerial performance), and creating cultures where people feel empowered to step forward and lead regardless of position. The goal is building leadership capability broadly rather than reserving it for the few with titles.
The leader-leadership distinction fundamentally reframes how we think about influence in organisations. Leadership isn't a position reserved for the few—it's a process accessible to everyone willing to take action.
This perspective liberates leadership from hierarchy. It tells the individual contributor that they can lead through expertise and initiative. It tells the project team member that they can lead through influence and relationship. It tells the junior employee that they can lead through example and courage. Position is not destiny.
Yet this perspective also challenges those who hold leadership positions. Titles alone don't make leaders—actions do. The manager who relies solely on positional authority has the title but not the substance. Genuine leadership must be earned through consistent behaviour that inspires trust and followership.
For organisations, the implication is clear: develop leadership broadly rather than reserving it for position-holders. Create opportunities for leadership practice at every level. Recognise and celebrate leadership wherever it emerges. Build cultures where people feel empowered to step forward and lead regardless of their place on the organisational chart.
Leadership is not something you are. It's something you do. And that means anyone can start today.