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Business director vs business leader

The differences between business directors and business leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business director and a business leader. Additionally, a business director has an average salary of $124,563, which is higher than the $90,430 average annual salary of a business leader.

The top three skills for a business director include project management, healthcare and sigma. The most important skills for a business leader are analytics, project management, and customer service.

Business director vs business leader overview

Business DirectorBusiness Leader
Yearly salary$124,563$90,430
Hourly rate$59.89$43.48
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs137,880117,296
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a business director do?

Business directors are responsible for overseeing the development of an organization's business goals and objectives. They typically work to increase business revenue, identify and develop business opportunities, and expand the company's presence and its brands. Other duties and responsibilities may include establishing effective company policies, goals, and sales targets, overseeing financial and budgetary activities, and identifying ways to minimize cost and boost financial performance. Business directors are also expected to negotiate contracts with clients and suppliers and propose and develop new partnerships.

What does a business leader do?

Business Leaders are considered trailblazers in their field. They are innovative thinkers who often introduce solutions to their industry's challenges. They inspire people pursuing careers in their field and even those outside the industry to strive harder and create their paths to success. Employees often look up to Business Leaders, which is why they must be motivating. They also oversee their business operations and often set long-term targets and strategies to achieve these targets. They think outside the box to set their business apart from their competitors.

Business director vs business leader salary

Business directors and business leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business DirectorBusiness Leader
Average salary$124,563$90,430
Salary rangeBetween $86,000 And $178,000Between $56,000 And $145,000
Highest paying CityProvidence, RINew York, NY
Highest paying stateRhode IslandNew York
Best paying companyEp EnergyLyft
Best paying industryFinancePharmaceutical

Differences between business director and business leader education

There are a few differences between a business director and a business leader in terms of educational background:

Business DirectorBusiness Leader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business director vs business leader demographics

Here are the differences between business directors' and business leaders' demographics:

Business DirectorBusiness Leader
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 63.3% Female, 36.7%Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between business director and business leader duties and responsibilities

Business director example responsibilities.

  • Plan and project manage the migration, testing and deployment of a new ERP system.
  • Develop various tools and processes to identify operational risk, effectively manage KPI's and monitor vendor relationships.
  • Manage cost-centers and leverage unique Indian production and post- production capabilities and position the company as a prefer production partner.
  • Lead ERP selection process and implementation project.
  • Enter claims into Medicare system; bill Medicaid and long-term care policies.
  • Provide direct operational oversight and supervision for assign dining facility.
  • Show more

Business leader example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage SharePoint portal site for SFA department.
  • Lead process and results metric development for all components of Medicaid business system.
  • Develop project plans, project status reports, manage the team and resolve day-to-day issues with emphasis on SDLC.
  • Set up a governance document to be share throughout all of department which outline how SharePoint would be manage.
  • Manage sales and technical group to complete a custom online shopping system and CRM system for digital and print products.
  • Utilize GMP to manage department budgets for capital expenses, spare parts, tools, and yearly contracts with outside vendors.
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Business director vs business leader skills

Common business director skills
  • Project Management, 10%
  • Healthcare, 8%
  • Sigma, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Oversight, 5%
  • Business Development, 5%
Common business leader skills
  • Analytics, 9%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Lean Six Sigma, 4%
  • Continuous Improvement, 4%

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