Leadership vs. Management

Studies on the subjects of leadership and management have the underlying difference between a leader and a manager as “managers maintain things and leaders change things.” Gill (2006:26) explains their difference as “Managers plan, allocate resources, administer and control whereas leaders innovate, communicate and motivate”

Some theorists use the terms ‘leadership’ and ‘management’ reciprocally as if they are tantamount with one another, while others use them in a very purposeful sense to express that they are, in effect, rather different (Bush, 2003). Organisational successfulness, it is generally accepted, is dependant on both competent leadership and consistent management (Dimmock and Walker, 2005) According to Grace (1995) they do not follow from one or the other, but

Much has been written about the difference between management and leadership. In the past, competent management staffs ran effective companies. In light of our ever-changing world, however, most companies have come to realize that it is much more important to lead than to manage. In today's world the old ways of management no longer work. One reason is that the degree of environmental and competitive change we are experiencing is extreme. Although exciting, the world is also very unstable and confused. In an article entitled What’s the Difference between Your Hospital and the Other? Gary Campbell states that the difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager “finds himself quite willing to

Leadership and management are alike and different in many ways. There are many different debated by scholars regarding the differences of leadership and management (Marquis & Huston, 2009). Part of the confusion stems from the word “leadership”. Marquis and Huston state that, “the word leadership was not known in the English language until the first half of the 19th century” (Marquis & Huston, 2009, p. 32). Theorists and leadership researchers disagree on what the word leadership is (Marquis & Huston, 2009). Therefore, it is wise to state what roles are integral in leadership (Marquis & Huston, 2009). Marquis lists leadership roles as decision maker, communicator, evaluator, facilitator, risk taker, mentor, energizer, coach, counselor, teacher, critical thinker, buffer, advocate, visionary, forecaster, influencer, creative problem solver, change agent, diplomat and role model (Marquis & Huston, 2009). “Leaders are in the front, moving forward, taking risks, and challenging the status quo” (Marquis & Huston, 2009, p. 33). According to Marquis & Huston (2009), the functions of management include planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling” (GCU, 2009). Grand Canyons lecture notes go on to state that, “within each of these functions,

Managers are leaders, leaders are managers, these concepts have long been thought to be synonymous. Ideally, for a manager to be good, the former is the case, but this is not always the case. Further, one doesn’t have to be a manager to be a leader. Anyone can be a leader. They are the people who exhibit superior interpersonal qualities that allows them to create connections to obtain a desired outcome; these are informal leaders (Sullivan). Everyone knows that one or two informal leaders, the people you just get behind and follow because they are so charismatic and influential. They don’t stand up to be recognized, they simply do it, as it comes natural to them. Managers on the other hand are placed in a position of power by an organization

The comparison and differences of traits between leadership and management techniques and styles is like comparing apples and oranges. Leadership should be an asset of management but unfortunately not all managers have leadership qualities A manager is a director, an overseer, someone who dictates employees. A leader is focused on organizing and inspiring people to be entrepreneurs. The role and responsibilities of both leaders and managers in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture has differences and similarities, both a leader and a manager have the same goal to have a healthy organization but the approaches are different. An example from sums up the differences between a leader and a

Within the organizational structure of most businesses you will likely find management and leadership coexisting. Commonly, the words are often substituted for on another. However, each word has a distinctly different definition. A manager does not necessarily make a good manager. Management is defined as those individuals in an organization that have the authority and the responsibility to manage the organization through the control of production processes and ensuring that they operate efficiently and effectively. Leadership is defined as the skills and ability to set future goals in accordance with the organizational goals and to communicate those goals to other employees in such a way that they

Leadership and management are commonly mistaken to be the same. Leaders and managers in an organization both lead, but the two are not synonymous. Management functions can provide leadership; and leadership activities can contribute to managing. Often leadership is also misunderstood to mean directing and instructing people and making important decisions on behalf of any organization. Effective leadership is much more than these. Good leadership requires attitudes and behaviors (Chapman, A., 2010). It requires human qualities beyond conventional notions of authority whereas management relies heavily on tangibles measurable capabilities such as effective planning. The followings are some differences between leader and manager. Manager administers, and leader innovates. Manager maintains and leader develops. Manager focuses on systems and structures, and leader focuses on people. Manager imitates and leader originates. Manager accepts the status quo and leader challenges it. Manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line and leader has his or her eye on the horizon.

Leadership can be thought of in an infinite amount of ways, and can be described in just as many. According to Leadership for Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services, written by Christopher R. Egdinton, Susan D. Hudson, Kathleen G. Scholl, and Lara Lauzon, leadership in recreation, parks, and leisure services can take on a variety of definitions, but most include some version of a person who influences another person or group to achieve a certain goal or objective (2011). In his article, “Leadership Versus Management: What’s the Difference?,” author James Kotterman provides a table that compares the actions of management and leadership, describing leadership actions as so: “displays very passionate attitude about the vision and goals, influences creation of coalitions, teams, and partnerships that understand and accept the vision, motivates and inspires, and

Leadership and management although being seen as synonymous do differ, not every manager is a leader and vice versa.

Management and leadership are viewed as two different perspectives in the business environment. As described by Dr. Warren Bennis ‘Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing’, this means that managers do things by the set rules and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company.

In accordance to an adaptation from The Wall Street Journal Guide to Management by Alan Murray, published by Harper Business, although leadership and management must function collectively, they are not identical, however they are unavoidably connected and corresponding; any attempt to disconnect the two is liable to initiate more complications than it resolves. Nevertheless, considerable effort has been consumed outlining the dissimilarities. The manager’s responsibility is to strategize and coordinate, whereas the leader’s responsibility is to encourage and motivate. (Murray, A., 2009)

Warren Bennis (1997) wrote in Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader that “There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct. Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial.” (Leiding, 2004, p.11) However, it is difficult to draw a clear distinction between leadership and management and create an ultimate formula because they perform simultaneously in an organisation, and the organisation is complex. Sometimes, it is easy to mix the use of leadership and management when the roles interrelate. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the role of each concept and how it can be effective when combined and how it can be ineffective when missing one or another. Both ideas have been researched widely, however, to date there is no single definition that portrays the whole picture of each. Nonetheless, what is known is organisations need outstanding management as well as great leadership to make the complex organisation sustainable and successful. Thus, in this essay, I will discuss each concept separately, and compare and contrast the processes of leadership and management through scholar’s definitions.

The relation between leadership and management has for a longtime influenced how organizations are perceived. It has also contributed to maintain some type of confusion in education and within the organization itself.

For a quick review, the definition of leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group or individuals, to achieve a common goal.