Change Manager vs Change Leader

What is the difference between Change Management and Change Leadership?

Both are vital to successful projects, but what is the difference in their role, and responsibilities?

Like all managers, a Change Manager’s role is to measure and maintain. A good Change Manager can understand the change required, how the change relates to the streams of People, Process, and Technology, and be able to articulate and communicate the status and progress of the change required.

A Change Manager is also responsible for quantifying the change and being able to break down the change journey into incremental and deliverable steps.

A Change Leader’s role is different. They need to be able to define both the reason for the change and design the desired future state. They see change not just as discrete steps, but as an ongoing evolution.

Being a Change Leader means being responsible for motivating the People involved in the change (not just those making the changes, but those whom the changes will affect), and must be able to communicate the vision and reasoning behind the change.

While a Change Manager’s role is to look within their project and ensure the changes happen as per the project plan, the Change Leader’s role is to see beyond this and ensure the change happens not just within the project, but that it fits into a greater journey across the entire organisation.

Daniel Ferri is a Business Consultant specialising in business process and change.