LEADERSHIP

Leadership

Leadership

Management and leadership can go hand in hand but they have two very different meanings. In this paper I will discuss the differences between management and leadership and I will examine the roles and responsibilities of leaders in creating and maintaining a healthy organization.

Management structures the organization, staffs it with people, and monitors activities (Bateman 368). Leaders go far beyond that. Some of the traits of a leader are Drive, leadership motivation, integrity, self confidence, and knowledge of the business or area leading.

Drive refers to a set of characteristics that reflect a high level of effort (Bateman 371). A leader with drive will strive to improve him self, the business, and the people in the people that person leads. Also, when I see that my leader of manager is driven and passionate about the job or project, it reflects down to me, and I to gain some drive and passion towards the project.

Leadership motivation also plays a role in being a good leader. Great leaders not only have the drive; they want to lead(Bateman 371). Leaders have a want for power, they don't want to sit back and let someone tell them what to do. They want to lead and they find satisfaction in the process of leadership (Bateman 371). My current manager is a good example. She first came to the company as a supervisor and within 4 years she was the manager of my group. She knew she wanted to be the manger and she obtained the position by motivating her self and having the drive to reach that goal.

Integrity is the correspondence between actions and words (Bateman 371). Honesty and credibility are very important. With these characteristics people will have more trust in their leader. If a person is not trusted he/she may not be able to lead because of a lack of respect. I feel that integrity is one of the more defining characteristics of a leader. One of the first things I look for in a person is integrity, even on simple terms. What I mean is if I make plans with someone to meet at Starbucks for a cup of coffee and the person agrees but later changes their mind just because they were tired or just didn't want to anymore I lose a little respect for that person. I personally have lots of integrity and I take pride in that. A leader can lead if a person looses respect for them over simple things.

Self confidence allows a leader to overcome obstacles, make decisions despite uncertainty, and still confide in others (Bateman 371). I've learned that in certain situations self confidence is contagious. If you show that you're confident other feed off it and feel confident their selves. But the main point is that people can see if you're confident or not and if you're not they are most likely not willing to follow you as their leader.

Effective leaders have a high level of knowledge about their industries, companies, and technical matters ...