There is a stark difference between a leader and a manager.
Leaders are expected to set the organization's direction and align people accordingly. Managers plan, staff, and budget and coordinate activities to achieve a goal that moves in the organization's direction. Leaders motivate people; managers control and solve problems. If there is a lack of direction in an organization short-term managerial duties waste time and energy; the leader must take control and identify what information is missing in order to make impactful long-term decisions for the good of the organization.
In order to set a strategy for the organization...
A leader must understand every department that can directly or indirectly affect the success of the company as a whole. Leaders instill cross-departmental trust that motivates individuals to help solve problems by acknowledging weaknesses, exposing vulnerabilities and highlighting strengths. Leaders create an environment which supports sharing data across departments to help others for the common goal of moving towards the company direction.
In a crisis...
A leader must be able to swiftly investigate, involve the correct resources, solicit information and engage in evidential discussions to make sound well-informed decisions. This can only be done when the people in the organization are onboard with the leader's vision and completely support where he is trying to take the organization. Leaders who handle crisis well set the direction on how the organization will be governed in the future - thereby engaging the right people to ensure the company does not suffer by getting ahead of problems before they become issues.
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