LEADERSHIP V MANAGEMENT
All over the world, people realize the importance of a good leadership for good performance of an organization, be it a company or a nation. It would have been almost impossible for India to get freedom without Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or achieve biracial harmony in South Africa without the guidance of a leader like Nelson Mandela.
Napoleon Bonaparte says, “A Leader is the dealer in hope”. (www.brainyquote.com). Leaders are the people with a clear vision who decide what the goal is going to be and how is he going to influence and motivate the people under him to achieve that goal. These people have the desire for innovation.
A lot of times, terms Leadership and Management are used interchangeably. Certainly the roles often overlap. However, to put it simply, both of these are two very different ways of organizing people.
Management is a process which includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling an organization for the purpose attaining a goal or an objective. Typically, management includes the appropriate allocation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources (Kotterman, 2006)
Leadership is a process by which an individual influences others to attain a goal or an objective. The leader directs the organization in a way that makes it more organized and coherent. A leader influences others by applying his/her leadership various attributes, such as beliefs, personality, knowledge, and skills. Although the position of a manager gives one the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives; this authority may not make one a leader. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply directing people (Kotterman, 2006).
The primary focus of a leader is the people working under him. Leadership operates in an environment based on trust. On the other hand, a manger tends to focus on the system and structure and how to assemble the people to get the job at hand done. In other words, leaders lead the people and managers manage the work at hand.
Leaders try to amplify the strengths of the people and the organization. On the other hand, managers try to focus on the weaknesses and how to go about reducing them. A leader’s job is to create such an environment that helps motivate his people to do something new, unique and different. It might have risks of failure but a leader realizes that in order to bring about positive long term changes, it is important that the people learn from their own mistakes.
On the other hand a manager tries to avoid anything that might be risky. He likes to manage the people and the resources at hand according to principles or values that have already been established that ensure stability in the company.
Leadership can be a contributing factor to the strategy's failure or success. A good leader can motivate the organizations by providing appropriate feedback. In other words, a good leader would welcome and accept feedback from members of one’s team and those within the organization as a whole. Feedback is important and it can be used to increase performance of employee, as well as create an open environment in which people are keen to discuss both successes and failures. Thus, a good leader will help to rescue even the most obviously failing strategy
CONCLUSION
People who say that they are leaders but not good managers are just visionaries or somebody with unrealistic ideas. Until and unless he doesn’t know how to accomplish his vision, his ideas will remain impractical. Hence, it is very important for a leader to be a good manager.
A good leader should be innovative and have a clear vision as to where he wants his company to go. He can play a critical role in guiding a corporation in its transformation. A good leader can appropriately select, train, motivate, and lead the organization during crisis, change, transition, or growth (Shanks, 1989).
Hence, according to me, leadership is a trait held by a person who has a clear vision for his organization that he is able to communicate to his colleagues in such a way that they believe in the leader and that vision, and feel motivated to work towards achieving that goal. Furthermore, a leader is not scared of change, rather welcomes it.
REFERENCES
• Kotterman, James. (2006), “Leadership Versus Management: What's the Difference?” Journal for Quality & Participation, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p13-17, 5p
• Shanks, David C., (1989), “The Role of Leadership in Strategy Development . By: Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p32, 5p
• http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/napoleonbo106371.html