Managers vs. Leaders

Here's a thought-provoking quote that I got from my friend, John, from Dan Allender's book, Leading with a Limp.

“The difference between a manager and a leader is the internal urge to alter the status quo to create a different world. In that sense leaders are prophets. They see the present as incomplete and inadequate and willing to risk the comfort of the present for the promise of a better tomorrow.
A manager, on the other hand, is content to keep the organization running as smoothly and efficiently as it can function… A leader must be troubled and discontent, and he must ask the question, How can tomorrow be better than today? He must be a visionary, living in the tension between how to honor what is good and true today and yet be discontent with today in light of what could transpire tomorrow… A leader must simultaneously deepen the organization’s desire to move while exposing cowardice and complacency involved in its wanting to remain stationary.
A leader offers a prophetic presence as she stirs desire and reminds those she serves what they will lose if the cling to the status quo... No wonder leading is full of risk and failure. And no wonder leadership requires a person who can own both her fear of moving forward into uncertainty and her ability to remain safe in the sure present. Leading begins with a summons to action…”