For years, one of my favorite interview questions for leadership roles has been, what’s the difference between a leader and a manager? Depending on the response, I like to follow it up with two additional questions. Are all managers leaders and are all leaders, managers? The goal of this series of questions is to try and extract the individual’s views on leadership, their leadership ethos, and get a glimpse into not only their own individual management style but the kind of leaders they may bring into their teams. I have always found it to be such a revealing question and therefore, as part of my “Thoughts on Leadership from ChatGPT” series, I wanted to see what kind of response I would get from the OpenAI platform. So here goes!
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Jared: What is the difference between a leader and a manager?
ChatGPT:
A leader and a manager are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. A leader is someone who inspires and motivates others to achieve a common goal. A leader may not necessarily hold a formal position of authority, but they are able to influence and guide others through their vision, communication skills, and ability to empower others.

A manager, on the other hand, is someone who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a team or department. A manager is typically responsible for setting goals, creating plans, and allocating resources to achieve those goals. They are also responsible for overseeing the work of their team and providing guidance and support as needed.

In short, a leader is focused on inspiring and motivating others to achieve a shared vision, while a manager is focused on the practicalities of running a team or department. Both roles are important in an organization, and effective leaders and managers often possess a combination of both leadership and management skills.

Jared: Are all managers, leaders?
ChatGPT:
Not all managers are leaders. While a manager may have the authority to make decisions and oversee the work of a team or department, they may not necessarily have the skills and abilities required to inspire and motivate others. Leadership involves the ability to communicate a vision and empower others to work towards a common goal, and not all managers possess these skills.

However, it is possible for a manager to develop their leadership skills over time. By learning how to effectively communicate, inspire, and empower others, a manager can become a more effective leader within their organization. Many organizations also offer leadership training and development programs to help managers develop these skills.

It's important to recognize that leadership and management are not mutually exclusive roles. An individual can be both a leader and a manager, and effective leaders often possess a combination of both leadership and management skills.
Jared: Are all leaders, managers?
ChatGPT:
Not all leaders are managers, and not all managers are leaders. While a manager typically holds a position of authority within an organization and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a team or department, a leader does not necessarily hold a formal position of authority. A leader is someone who inspires and motivates others to achieve a common goal.

Leadership involves the ability to communicate a vision and empower others to work towards that vision. A leader may not necessarily hold a formal position of authority, but they are able to influence and guide others through their vision, communication skills, and ability to empower others.

Effective leaders often possess a combination of both leadership and management skills. However, it's possible for an individual to be a leader without holding a managerial position, and it's also possible for a manager to be a poor leader. It's important to recognize that leadership and management are not mutually exclusive roles.
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While these responses are pretty good, they read a bit too much like a management book, which would be expected for a platform that doesn’t have any real world management experience. As I’ve spent time with ChatGPT, I remain incredibly impressed with how far this technology has come, but even on the second entry of this series it’s fatal flaw (either by design or situation) remains the platform’s inability to express empathy. Even if it could, that empathy would be the definition of artificial, as even ChatGPT will tell you:
As a large language model trained by OpenAI, I do not have personal feelings or emotions, and I do not experience empathy in the same way that a human does. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, and it is a complex psychological and emotional process that is unique to humans. As an artificial intelligence system, I do not have the ability to experience emotions or to fully understand the experiences and feelings of others. My primary function is to process and generate text based on the data that I have been trained on, and I do not have the ability to feel empathy or any other emotions.

So while I will continue to explore ChatGPT’s thoughts on the subject, the greatest takeaway for me personally so far is that as leaders, empathy and vulnerability are two of our greatest assets. While continuing to develop and grow our skillsets through the experiences and wisdom of others is core to humanity, let us never forget to feel.