Project leader or manager

Here's a question for you native English-speakers: Are there any difference in meaning/value/weight etc between project leader and project manager? As a Swedish-speaker I prefer project manager, project leader sounds very Swenglish to me (the Swedish word is projektledare) ... But do I dare to change all leaders into managers in my work documentation? :)

Best regards,
Åsa

Some Americans currently use "project leader" and "project manager" interchangeably even though they aren't necessarily the same. There is a recognized difference between being a "leader" and being a "manager," although it is possible to be both at the same time. To put it simply, a manager is in charge of overseeing specific tasks and day-to-day details while a leader is responsible for providing guidance and insight. I hope that makes sense to you, this is actually a difficult thing to clarify. There are numerous books and entire college courses designed solely for studying the differences between the two.

You may be able to use the terms interchangeably and properly in one situation, but in another they would refer to two seperate people. It's also possible to have one but not the other.

[Tdol]

'Leader' goes well with 'team'.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Åsa

Here's a question for you native English-speakers: Are there any difference in meaning/value/weight etc between project leader and project manager? As a Swedish-speaker I prefer project manager, project leader sounds very Swenglish to me (the Swedish word is projektledare) ... But do I dare to change all leaders into managers in my work documentation? :)

Best regards,
Åsa

Unless the terms have special meanings in your particular organization, I think either term would be acceptable. :wink:

In many cases, project leader is a role while project manager is a position. For example in a IT project, project leader normally is a senior developer; a project manager, on the other hand, is a manager who manages the project.