Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus (1985) listed several key differences between leaders and managers.

They said that leaders:

1. do the right things;
2. see people as great assets;
3. seek commitment;
4. focus on outcomes;
5. see what and why things could be done;
6. share information; and
7. promote networks.

In contrast they list as manager's attributes that they:

1. do things right;
2. see people as liabilities;
3. seek control, create and follow the rules;
4. focus on how things should be done;
5. seek compliance;
6. value secrecy; and
7. use formal authority (hierarchy).

In the following years these ideas have been adopted and built upon by authors in the conceptual academic sphere (Conger, 1992; Czarniawska-Joerges & Wolff, 1991; Rost, 1991; Spreitzer & Quinn, 1996, cited in Field, 2002).