What is the difference between leaders and managers? Can a leader lead without managing? Can a manager manage without leading? When we think of iconic leaders of our time like Steve Jobs, few would debate his leadership skills but what about his management skills?

For me the key difference between leadership and management is that you cannot be a leader if you don’t have followers. Followers follow a leader voluntarily out of respect and admiration for what the leader has achieved, has created or how the leader makes us feel about ourselves.

We never follow a leader due to their job title or rank. However, we might occasionally find ourselves in situations where we must follow requests and instructions from a manager because of their job title or rank. But how many organisations have achieved breakthrough success and changed the world using hierarchical management structures without having creative leaders in place?

In today’s rapidly changing world, it’s more critical than ever to have creative leaders who inspire creativity in their associates towards achieving a common goal.

In order to create a truly authentic following and become an authentic leader we need to be true to ourselves and output creative work that we are passionate about. Work that feels like it is aligned with our inner calling. Because if the work we deliver is not aligned with what we feel in our gut, then how can we ever hope for it to light a fire in somebody else’s belly and make them want to follow our work and become collaborators towards our goals?

Particularly in the gig-economy it is critical to develop creative output that we are passionate about and that we share it to build a tribe of like-minded people who will collaborate with us on achieving goals that outsize us as individuals.

Reid Hoffman the founder of LinkedIn says, “Everyone is working on their hero story about their hero journey and the impact they had or will have on the world.” He recommends that when looking to achieve our own goals we must think about how to involve others. And more importantly, determine how we can help others create their own hero stories by helping us achieve ours!

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, uses empathy as the cornerstone of his leadership. In his book, “Hit Refresh”, he describes his passion for understanding how colleagues and customers see their world and their goals. And about his and Microsoft’s mission of empowering people to achieve their goals. When I see some of the great free tools, like VS Code, that Microsoft has released to the world, and I use daily for my own creative endeavours, I believe that his mission comes from the heart and is more than just marketing!

Arguably the first leader was a creator. Someone who showed up and persevered to create something that people admire and therefore seek to follow its creator who thereby becomes a leader with followers!

I have come to believe that this is the starting point for anyone wanting to become a great leader. That is to establish a creative practice, show up daily and persevere on creative projects that we are passionate about and to regularly share our creative work. Also, to become to others, the follower we wish we had.

Everyone struggles with the willingness to value as-yet-unmade-work. That’s why uncreated works of personal expression are at the top of everyone’s bucket list right up until we die. Think for a moment of an item that you value greatly. An item you hugely appreciate. It might be a device, a favourite painting, a book or a favourite song. Now think of that item’s creator and their state of mind when they were just starting to create your favourite work of art. Think how easily they could have become distracted to do something more urgent in the moment but far less important than creating your favourite piece of art? Great leaders recognize that what’s important is rarely urgent and what’s urgent is rarely important!

That is why I believe it is critical to have a daily creative practice. To have the discipline to persevere and share our work. To be to others the follower we wish we had. And develop the empathy and leadership skills to be able to enlist others on our creative projects by figuring out how to make them the hero in their own hero’s journey by helping us realise ours.