Team leader vs team manager

The differences between team leaders and team 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 team leader and a team manager. Additionally, a team manager has an average salary of $82,017, which is higher than the $68,817 average annual salary of a team leader.

The top three skills for a team leader include customer service, ladders and patients. The most important skills for a team manager are patients, taking care, and project management.

Team leader vs team manager overview

	Team Leader	Team Manager
Yearly salary	$68,817	$82,017
Hourly rate	$33.09	$39.43
Growth rate	8%	-
Number of jobs	197,336	96,615
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	43	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a team leader do?

Team leaders are responsible for managing a team for a specific project or work component. They primarily guide the team members and ensure that they are still working towards the set goals. Team leaders create strategies to reach goals, cascade the goals and strategies to team members, assign tasks, conduct periodic check-ups on the roadmap towards the goals, foster an engaging work environment, motivate and coach team members, monitor team performance, evaluate the strategies and come up with mitigating plans as needed. They are also responsible for reporting the team's progress to higher management.

What does a team manager do?

Team managers primarily manage the daily activities of their members. Their role includes setting targets, implementing guidelines, and supporting employees to solve any issues that may arise. It is their duty to make sure that the team's objectives are fully understood by all members and that they work closely to fulfill them. They must ensure that all of their members are working towards a common goal through constant monitoring. To manage the team, they may utilize certain principles, such as the SMART principle. They also train members to see to it that their goals are distinct, measurable, attainable, and timely.

Team leader vs team manager salary

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

	Team Leader	Team Manager
Average salary	$68,817	$82,017
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $126,000	Between $44,000 And $152,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Ropes & Gray	Meta
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between team leader and team manager education

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

	Team Leader	Team Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi	California State University - Bakersfield

Team leader vs team manager demographics

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

	Team Leader	Team Manager
Average age	43	47
Gender ratio	Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0%	Male, 55.9% Female, 44.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 5.8% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	8%

Differences between team leader and team manager duties and responsibilities

Team leader example responsibilities.

Manage ACD metrics and methodology, including reporting to Sr. Management.
Set the highest standards for achieving company s KPIs, and holding staff individually accountable thereof.
Lead and conduct daily port operations for all DOD cargo transiting through the state of Florida.
Manage inventory and stock groceries, clothes and office supplies, handle supplies requests, revise logbook.
Implement multiple tools and utilities (KaiZen ideas) to optimize and automate various processes across the projects.
Manage online tasks, delegate and oversee responsibilities and projects, work with HTML coding, and update site content.

Team manager example responsibilities.

Build and manage narcotics trafficking/use database in Unix base setting.
Facilitate appropriate usage and allocation of skil visits via authorization process for manage care insure patients.
Manage and coordinate care of medical and psychiatric patients with accountability for cost effective quality outcome.
Lead project team supporting Massachusetts payroll tax initiative, ensuring statutory information are captured and report.
Manage contact center performance to avoid financial penalty, efficiently driving client desire productivity results, meeting KPIs.
Manage an embed Facebook executive protection team that provide security and logistical support for a corporate executive and his family.

Team leader vs team manager skills

Common team leader skills

Customer Service, 26%
Ladders, 9%
Patients, 6%
Sales Floor, 6%
PET, 5%
Safety Procedures, 4%

Common team manager skills

Patients, 10%
Taking Care, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Performance Management, 4%
Leadership, 4%
Direct Reports, 4%

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Team Leader
Team Leader vs Team Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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