Essay about Organizational Leadership versus Management

Leadership is a facet of management. It is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. The main aim of a manager is to maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation. To achieve this managers must undertake the four functions of management: planning, organization, leading and controlling. In some cases leadership is just one important component of the leading function. Predpall (1994) said, "Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the guide-post for action and behavior rather than attempting to control others". In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self-motivated groups may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is not always required proves that leadership is just an asset and is not essential.

Quoted by Ronald Reagan “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” A manager gets things done via planning and delegation. Tasks are usually assigned and results are obtained by other efforts. A leader gets things done by holding a vision, modeling behaviors and usually have very inspiring actions. A manager is defined as, “An individual who is in charge of a certain group or tasks” (Business Dictionary). A leader is defined as “The person who leads or commands a group, organizations” (Business Dictionary).

To fully explain the relationship between Leadership and Management we need to appreciate that the two go hand in hand, they are by no means the same thing but they complement each other when driving any team to perform and exceed targets within a business. The manager’s job is very task-focused. They often have to follow company

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

There is a difference between leadership and management, although they are similar in some ways. While, they both want to achieve common goals, influence people, and work with people, they are different. Managers aim to create consistency and

Leadership vs. Management, are they the same? No!. “A leader focus on setting goals and direction, challenging the norm, and seeking new ways of working towards the goals. On the other side, Managers specialize on conformance to the standards. They manage teams and individuals, organizing, directing and controlling to achieve goals” (EBA, 2016).

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the word leader as a “person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country” and describes the word manager as a “person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of company or similar organization”. Each of these meanings are very close in proximity however many in the business world have different definitions for each of these roles. Although they are different they are linked and are complementary to each other (Oxford Dictionary (American English)).

There has been debate about the difference between leadership and management. With some believing there is no distinction, while others that they should be separated in two defined roles.

Successful organizations have strong leaders and managers that develop, support and encourage employee longevity within a company. There is a significant difference between leadership and management however both skills have to be used collectively and both are important to a profitable organization. Leadership is a notion of communicating an organization’s vision, whereas management is more of the implementation of the organization’s vision. The manager typically carries out the responsibilities written by the organization and has a good team underneath them to carry out the duties and meet the goals. Most companies have a mission statement that mirrors and supports a company’s vision. When referring leadership and management, the two

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.

Leadership is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. Care must be taken in distinguishing between the two concepts. The main aim of a manager is to maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation.

Not all managers are leaders and not all leaders are managers. The biggest difference between management and leadership is people skills. In determining if a person is a leader or a manager, Bova (2008) lists some differences with which many a person would agree. One difference is that a manager directs people. Managers essentially tell employees to get the job done. Many people work on autopilot until their work shift ends. However, people will follow a leader. Leaders inspire others to want to strive for their best and to go beyond their normal duties.

Anyone can manage but not everyone makes a good leader. “Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent” (Clark, 2010, p. 1). As a leader, inspire your employees by being passionate yourself.

What are the differences between managers and leaders? “The biggest difference between managers and leaders is the way they motivate the people who work or follow them, and this sets the tone for most other aspects of what they do” (Changing Minds, 2008). Managers hire people to work underneath them to accomplish tasks for a common goal. These people are considered subordinates. Leaders have followers. These followers are considered employees. Leaders are passionate about something and bring this level of understanding and emotion to others around them. Managers deal with the physical aspect of the position, whereas leaders deal with the personal aspect of the position.

Organizations depend on the management and leadership skills of individuals in order to be successful. Leaders do not have to be managers but are equally important. Leaders are individuals who possess traits, behavior and abilities to influence others to accomplish tasks and other needed objectives for the company. Leadership is defined as “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization. . . .” (House et al., 1999, pg. 184).