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District leader vs manager

The differences between district leaders and managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a district leader and a manager. Additionally, a district leader has an average salary of $79,496, which is higher than the $58,651 average annual salary of a manager.

The top three skills for a district leader include customer service, sales presentations and direct reports. The most important skills for a manager are customer service, payroll, and food safety.

District leader vs manager overview

District LeaderManager
Yearly salary$79,496$58,651
Hourly rate$38.22$28.20
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs117,7081,236,194
Job satisfaction-4.57
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a district leader do?

The duties of a district leader depend on their line of work or industry of employment. However, their responsibilities typically include setting goals and guidelines, managing different offices, reviewing regular progress reports, coordinating managers, liaising with internal and external parties, and developing strategies to optimize services and operations. They must also respond to issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Moreover, a district leader must lead and encourage staff to reach goals, all while implementing the organization's policies and regulations.

What does a manager do?

Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.

District leader vs manager salary

District leaders and managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

District LeaderManager
Average salary$79,496$58,651
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $141,000Between $37,000 And $92,000
Highest paying CityNorfolk, VA-
Highest paying stateConnecticutNew Jersey
Best paying companyVertex Pharmaceuticals-
Best paying industryHospitalityFinance

Differences between district leader and manager education

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

District LeaderManager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

District leader vs manager demographics

Here are the differences between district leaders' and managers' demographics:

District LeaderManager
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 60.1% Female, 39.9%Male, 51.0% Female, 49.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between district leader and manager duties and responsibilities

District leader example responsibilities.

  • Serve as multi-unit manager, responsible for motivating and developing coworkers to achieve results that increase overall profitability of company.
  • Train and mentore peer DM's, corporate executives and company trainers in both one on one and classroom situations.
  • Partner with POS programmers to develop and test new interface, new menu groupings and new products for next generation POS.
  • Provide leadership to commodity specialists and buyers including commodity planning and negotiations.
  • Coordinate community and youth educational events to promote leadership, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity in collaboration with regional government agencies.
  • Attain 92nd percentile in monthly operational KPI and quality measurements through relentless pursuit of productivity and process improvement.

Manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage both BOH and FOH operations exceeding company specifications.
  • Manage logistics and security for high net worth individuals and corporations.
  • Manage budgets and payroll records, review financial transactions to assure expenditures are authorize and budget.
  • Guide and manage the administrative day-to-day academic program and the implementation of strategies by providing leadership to faculty and staff.
  • Provide leadership and direction to facility management and program owners while motivating and interacting with employees to achieve continuous improvement.
  • Customer-Orient with experience with POS systems, food preparation and safety regulations.
  • Show more

District leader vs manager skills

Common district leader skills
  • Customer Service, 37%
  • Sales Presentations, 12%
  • Direct Reports, 10%
  • Develop Strong Relationships, 6%
  • Brand Development, 5%
  • Loss Prevention, 3%
Common manager skills
  • Customer Service, 19%
  • Payroll, 9%
  • Food Safety, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 4%
  • Management, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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