A group has two or more members, with a clear leader, who perform independent jobs. A team has members, with shared leadership, who perform interdependent jobs. Group managers are also called directive leaders and team leaders empowering leaders. All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams.

The terms management-directed, semiautonomous, and self-managed (or self-directed) are commonly used to differentiate along the continuum. Semiautonomous is between the two.