Many people think that management and leadership is essentially the same thing, however upon closer examination, we can see that the two are almost completely different methods of influencing subordinates to accomplish a task. .
Management.
Managing employees relies heavily on well established practices of command and control to achieve its goals. This leads to practices such as "don't reinvent the wheel" and "that's the way it's always been done" type approaches to getting the job done. They may be less inclined to take risks and are less innovative. Another trait of management is more reliance on well established chains of command and a more Machiavellian style of managing employees. For example, a director may constantly remind their employees that they are in the driver's seat of the department or company, and that they achieved such a position by past accomplishments. .
Leadership.
Leadership conversely, comes from the vision of a charismatic individual. A leader shares their vision with their subordinates and convinces them that their vision must come to reality. In other words, a leader sells their dream to the employees and convinces them to accomplish it. The ability of a leader to lead depends on a number of factors other than simple dreams however. The vision they present to employees must clear, precise, and achievable. The leader must not only know what they want to achieve, but how to achieve it, and convince others to work towards the same goal. .
A great example of a leader and my personal favorite is Apple Computer's Steve Jobs. Steve founded the company alongside of Steve Wozniac about twenty years ago, but left the company ten years ago to pursue his own company when he realized that Apple was becoming more of a corporate managed company that refused to innovate. About three years ago, Apple Computer was on the verge of closing its doors because of that lack of focus and vision, and contacted Steve Jobs and begged him to return to lead the company.