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Lead person vs supervisor

The differences between lead people and supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a lead person and a supervisor. Additionally, a lead person has an average salary of $105,432, which is higher than the $53,902 average annual salary of a supervisor.

The top three skills for a lead person include safety rules, ISO and safety regulations. The most important skills for a supervisor are customer service, safety procedures, and sales floor.

Lead person vs supervisor overview

Lead PersonSupervisor
Yearly salary$105,432$53,902
Hourly rate$50.69$25.91
Growth rate--
Number of jobs87,619224,920
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

What does a lead person do?

A lead person or lead worker is an employee who provides leadership and instructions to others in a group to complete tasks quickly and effectively. Lead workers plan and organize meetings with supervisors and the management to discuss a particular project's progress and development. Lead persons would often participate in the training of new employees about their job duties. As the group leader, lead persons must also ensure that employees are following company policies and adhere to all standards and guidelines.

What does a supervisor do?

Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met. When needed, supervisors also provide guidance to employees in terms of their career or even personal challenges. They also help in fostering harmonious work relationships by resolving interpersonal conflicts at work. To be successful in their role, they must have leadership skills, time management skills, decision-making capabilities, analytical skills, and problem-solving skills.

Lead person vs supervisor salary

Lead people and supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lead PersonSupervisor
Average salary$105,432$53,902
Salary rangeBetween $64,000 And $171,000Between $31,000 And $92,000
Highest paying CitySanta Rosa, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateHawaiiAlaska
Best paying companyGoogleReed Smith
Best paying industryConstructionHealth Care

Differences between lead person and supervisor education

There are a few differences between a lead person and a supervisor in terms of educational background:

Lead PersonSupervisor
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Lead person vs supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between lead people' and supervisors' demographics:

Lead PersonSupervisor
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 84.4% Female, 15.6%Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between lead person and supervisor duties and responsibilities

Lead person example responsibilities.

  • Manage the POS system to process sales/returns/exchanges.
  • Manage job crew, operate industrial vac-truck, obtain CDL
  • Attain permits and ensure workers used proper PPE prior to entering confine spaces.
  • Train and achieve USG certification for stainless steel, common steel MIG, aluminum MIG, and TIG common.
  • Need method to proactively manage the business improving cross-functional collaboration & KPI visibility.
  • Conduct hourly quality and production inspections, while following all FDA, SQF and GMP guide lines.
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Supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Lead continuous process improvement and six sigma teams to meet ISO 9001 and QS 9000 standards.
  • Manage and implement merchandising strategy for POS marketing and display inventory.
  • Lead comprehensive training for each new volunteer or court-mandate worker regarding OSHA regulations and warehouse procedure.
  • Organize care with 6 CNAs.
  • Coordinate lifeguard duty schedule for all pools.
  • Maintain cleanliness throughout kitchen, coolers, and freezer areas.
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Lead person vs supervisor skills

Common lead person skills
  • Safety Rules, 8%
  • ISO, 7%
  • Safety Regulations, 7%
  • CNC, 6%
  • Safety Procedures, 6%
  • Production Floor, 5%
Common supervisor skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Safety Procedures, 9%
  • Sales Floor, 9%
  • POS, 9%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Payroll, 5%

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