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Business program manager vs business leader

The differences between business program managers 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 program manager and a business leader. Additionally, a business program manager has an average salary of $122,869, which is higher than the $90,430 average annual salary of a business leader.

The top three skills for a business program manager include project management, program management and portfolio. The most important skills for a business leader are analytics, project management, and customer service.

Business program manager vs business leader overview

Business Program ManagerBusiness Leader
Yearly salary$122,869$90,430
Hourly rate$59.07$43.48
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs384,234117,296
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a business program manager do?

Business Program Managers oversee specific company programs. They plan for the programs, manage the programs' budget allocation, implement activities, and evaluate the performance. They also lead the employees assigned to handle these programs. They are expected to properly onboard and train these employees to acclimate them with what the programs need. A Business Program Manager should understand the company's main business and the industry it moves in. This understanding helps them create sound strategies that will push their company's performance. This would also help them manage their business programs better.

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 program manager vs business leader salary

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

Business Program ManagerBusiness Leader
Average salary$122,869$90,430
Salary rangeBetween $92,000 And $163,000Between $56,000 And $145,000
Highest paying CityJersey City, NJNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew York
Best paying companyMetaLyft
Best paying industry-Pharmaceutical

Differences between business program manager and business leader education

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

Business Program ManagerBusiness Leader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business program manager vs business leader demographics

Here are the differences between business program managers' and business leaders' demographics:

Business Program ManagerBusiness Leader
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 58.7% Female, 41.3%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, 67.9% 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 program manager and business leader duties and responsibilities

Business program manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead and manage UAT planning and execution.
  • Manage product order-ability in ERP for all Cisco products.
  • Manage integration of customer accounts from merger and acquisition (300K+) and partner-centric (50K) activities into Salesforce.com.
  • Manage a team of 20 skil professionals supporting lean design, configuration and building a solid solution through ERP implementation.
  • Manage new requirements and change requests, system outages and emergencies (weather/upgrades), and ensure ISO and security compliance.
  • Manage SLA for account creation; invoke and manage escalations regarding incomplete/inaccurate data.
  • 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.
  • Show more

Business program manager vs business leader skills

Common business program manager skills
  • Project Management, 11%
  • Program Management, 10%
  • Portfolio, 6%
  • KPIs, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Risk Management, 4%
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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