Leadership Today
What is the true meaning of management? When we think of leadership, many people like to talk about specific attitudes, behaviors, or behaviors that characterize effective leaders. The problem with defining leadership in this way is that attitudes, behaviors, and behaviors are always situation-specific and can vary from organization to organization. Attitudes, attitudes, and behaviors that are good in one situation may not apply to others. What is common in all situations? Consequences caused by management.
Simply put, leadership is about the performance of teams, groups, and organizations (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005). Good leadership supports effective team and group performance. This in turn increases the well-being of the people who lead. When we think of great leaders, we often talk about what they did instead of how they did it. Poor leadership, on the other hand, reduces the quality of life of those affected.
Based on this knowledge, we can see that the attitudes and behaviors of management are best defined in terms of their consequences. These consequences can be good or bad, but these classifications are just one way to evaluate a leader's effectiveness.
Thinking about the effectiveness of a leader will always lead to a discussion of the differences between leadership and management. This debate is very difficult because the two terms are often used interchangeably. Even though people know there is a difference, this separation can be confusing. Ask ten different people the difference between leadership and management and you can get eleven different answers. Although the details of the answers may vary, the overall context is often divided into leaders who are charismatic and admired, and organizational managers with a whip in one hand and a bullhorn in the other (Kotterman, 2006).
This comparison would suggest that the difference is a matter of style. This is a common misconception. In principle, the difference between leadership and management is really a matter of function. If we look at the functional differences in detail, it is easy to see why such confusion is occurring.
Leaders and managers are involved in activities such as setting direction, aligning resources and motivating people. However, managers are more likely to focus on the task (eg budget and planning); while leaders focus more on direction and vision. The activities of managers focus on maintaining order and a strong working environment. Leaders are looking for new goals and how organizational priorities can be aligned. The manager has control and solves problems. The leader will inspire and motivate you around you. An effective manager must create standards, consistency, predictability and order for his group and / or organization. An effective leader must be able to create the potential for dramatic change, but an ineffective leader can also cause chaos and even failure (Kotterman, 2006).
Given all this, we can say that leadership and management are two different things. Does this mean that one has to choose whether to be one or the other? The answer is no. The best leaders / managers are the same. Former GE CEO Jack Welch is a good example of this. Of course, this also means that there are some people in the organization who do not have authority. There are no names, but their stories are some of the most interesting readings in the Wall Street Journal. The real question is, how can both be done effectively at the same time? The answer to this question is a bit complicated and we will try to start addressing it next time.
Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2005). What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 169–180.Kotterman, J. (2006).
Leadership versus management: What's the difference? The Journal for Quality & Participation, 29(2), 13–17.