LEADERSHIP

THE GROUP - Leadership

THE GROUP - Leadership

Define leadership

Leadership, conventionally seen as a generic skill: that is leadership is leadership, whether in the commercial sector, military, or government arenas. Most, of this material is not academically rigorous—in fact, it is little more than entertaining storytelling with a few kernels of wisdom amid the large amount of chaff that readers have to sift through this. Still, leadership is important and learning more about it is good for organizations and society.

Renowned organizational theorist Richard Cyert (1990) offers a textbook definition: “Leadership is the ability to get participants in an organization to focus their attention on the problems that the leader considers significantly” (p. 29). In a similar vein, Shenkman (2007) argues that “the leader's real work is to create followers” (p. 13).

Contrast leadership and management.

Scholars and practitioners spend a great deal of energy distinguishing between the concepts of leadership and management. Rather than, focus so intently on the differences, it is perhaps more helpful to understand why they are both important and how these functions complement one another. Leadership and management both involve working with other people and striving to accomplish goals (Northouse, 2007). The overall focus of time, goals, functions, and the nature of the relationship (between the leadership or manager and follower or subordinate) differ across the two concepts of leadership and management. Table provides an overview of these differences.

 

Leadership

Leadership

Time Focus

Long Term

Long Term

Goals (Northhouse, 2007)

Envisioning and creating change influencing others

Envisioning and creating change influencing others

Functions (Kotter, 2001)

Providing direction, Aligning people, Envisioning, Motivating and inspiring

Providing direction, Aligning people, Envisioning, Motivating and inspiring

Nature of relationship (Rost, 1991)

Influence relationship Reciprocal

Influence relationship Reciprocal

While the two concepts may seem quite distinct and different, the reality is that they go hand in hand. A long-term focus and sustainable organizational change (leadership) cannot happen without a parallel focus on short-term goals and completion of tasks (management). Without the function, of staffing (management), there would be no people to align (leadership); in some situations, there is a need to have control (management) and, in others, inspiration or motivation (leadership).

What do you consider the 3 most important differences between leaders and managers?

In addition, these functions are not so distinct and clear-cut. Often, even within the same situation, someone may engage in planning (management) while he or she is providing direction (leadership). What is perhaps most distinct between the two concepts is the nature of the relationships. Often, management involves a top-down authority relationship, whereas the relationships within leadership based more on the influence between the members, whereby the leader influences the followers and the overall leadership process, and the followers also influence the leaders and the leadership process.

Although these distinctions may appear to be clean and clear on paper the reality is that, in practice, they overlap and even merge. It is important to recognize that the two concepts complement one another and that both needed for organizational success, for without leadership, an organization will become stagnant and perhaps die, and without management, an organization will not function ...