title: You cannot be a leader unless someone is willing to follow.
abstract: Managers are often expected to fill the role of leader and manager because both of these roles help an organization achieve their intended outcomes. In many situations managers are also leaders but there are equally as many situations when they are not. The expectation that managers will always be leaders and that the roles are synonymous or interchangeable presumes that each role can be defined by describing the traits or behavior of an individual who fills the role. This does not account for the qualities of interaction between leader and followers that must take place if leadership occurs. Managers can manage without willing followers: leaders cannot.
authors.affiliation: Department of Education, Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, OK, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muller-Smith
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000523:psychology*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D009745:Nursing, Supervisory