Leadership and Management
While the term management and managers dominated best practice for half of the twentieth century, currently it is not unusual to meet work organization where no one uses these terms; where ‘management’ is criticized as bureaucratic, commonplace, procedural and not worthy of serious attention. Leadership, on the other hand, is considered a more valued, more complex, more sought-after, and even more prestigious work involved in running an organization. Various works of literature have suggested that management involves administration and controlling of an organization in accordance with bureaucratic norms, routine, structure, and a well-established system. Leadership, in contrast, involves is considered a more contemporary, less hands-on, approaches where an organization is led by visions and values instead of being controlled by rules (Jackson and Parry, 2011).
Management is tactical while leadership can be considered as strategic. Management is procedural, static, mundane, structured and every day, while leadership is heroic, creative, charismatic, special and chaotic. Leadership is normally considered something which is in some way ‘superior’ to management, not simply regarding its position of organizational seniority, but instead as a concept making claims to higher ideals compared to those of lowly management (Bowditch et al., 2007). To a given degree, management as a form of work, as a profession, as a form of authority and as a body of knowledge has been stripped progressively of value.
While pervasive and powerful, the new discussion of leadership is left contested. It has never been clear that management can be easily disentangled from leadership. Management has often involved leadership and leadership will always involve traits of management. In more than one occasion, leadership is often redefined by business gurus (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). For every leadership talk of ‘visions,' transformations,' ‘passion, and values organizations constantly depend on traditional forms of control in terms of bureaucracy, paperwork, performance targets, and administration.
Traits and Characteristics
An effective leader is one who has the ability to provide a balance of the two aspects of leadership. Trait theory holds that leaders are not different from any other person, with research emphasizing on the personal characteristics and traits that ensure the promotion of leadership effectiveness. Leadership traits are often classified into three groups including motivation personality and skills (Daft, 2014). Characteristics, however, of an effective leader starts with the fundamental ability to believe in oneself. It involves maturity, expertise, and conviction that translate into a direction and purpose. It is such clarity of vision that provides great leaders with confidence to be able to adopt the role of instilling self-esteem, motivation, and teamwork.
According to his observation, Dipboye (1975) mentioned that an attempt to determine the traits and characteristics that distinguish between an efficient manager and an effective manager depended on the situation. On the contrary, other researchers have concluded that an efficient manager is one who requires basic leadership skills. According to Bush (2008), a manager who is capable of adjusting promptly to unanticipated circumstances has the ability to direct the team to adapt as well. Adaptability requires managers to reflect ingeniously and realize innovative answers to old problems. In addition, managers require strong relationships with their employees, once acquired trust is formed, and employees feel appreciated.
An effective leader and efficient manager require the above-mentioned traits and characteristics because of the necessary understanding of leadership as an essential part of an organizational progress (Northouse, 2004). Leadership and management traits and characteristics ensure that leaders obtain the necessary qualities that their followers do not have. In order to be important in appraising identified traits, the characteristics have to be acknowledged clearly as being distinguishable from one another. The traits must additionally be identifiable as being essential to the accomplishments of the objectives and goals.
Personal Assessment
It always amuses me just how much we learn about who we are when faced with difficult circumstances that require effective decision making. As a leader, I prefer neat and an orderly approach to providing a solution to problems. In choosing individuals for different roles in different teams, I consider strengths and weaknesses and position them in a manner that enables them to work optimally. I like to approach conflict with diplomacy and weigh circumstances when attempting to resolve a conflict. I prefer making interactions with other people to provide a solution to problems and show my respect to different opinions that other people present.
Assertiveness is a trait that I have, and it allows me to be straightforward with people when a situation calls for being assertive. I am obviously informed of the interconnection that is present in various organizations, and I tend to think and plan ahead in order to be part of the problem and come up with systems and plans to put in place in order to provide solutions to the issues when they come up. Since I am detail oriented, I tend to an emphasis on details, and sometimes I can be critical about other things as well.
I sent high standards for myself, and I also do the same for other people and some other organizations. Being informed of these habits gives me the chance to pull back from demanding circumstances or individual and carefully look into my actions in order to adjust in case I realize I am overly judgmental or critical. Sometimes, however, I tend to be passionate about what I do to an extent that I take criticism enough. To be able to gain perspective I work diligently and constructively, and I additionally use the benefits I have when working on something. The other qualities I have, assists me in making positive impacts on my achievements and the willingness to adapt and grow professionally.
Reflective Analysis
The first insights I gained in leadership and management is that it is never an individual’s directing but instead a cooperative effort which is fostered through listening, gathering various opinions, taking into consideration effective strategies and coming up with clear visions. Secondly, leaders and managers need to attain tough and demanding goals that are set apart from the ones set by a particular organization and emphasis on surpassing objectives. As essential as flexibility contributes into the equation of leadership and management, it is necessary to sustain the spirit of an entrepreneur. Third, even though leadership has been defined in many ways and various criteria for success, it is defined through the assumption that is a process of influence which in most circumstances proves situational. It takes others commitment within an organization to implement the goals and visions of a leader.
References
Jackson, B., & Parry, K. (2011). A very short fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. Sage.
Bush, T. (2008). From management to leadership: semantic or meaningful change?. Educational management administration & leadership, 36(2), 271-288.
Bowditch, J. L., Buono, A. F., & Stewart, M. M. (2007). A primer on organizational behavior. Wiley.
Dipboye, R. L. (1975). Women as managers—stereotypes and realities. Survey of Business, 10, 22-25.
Daft, R. L. (2014). The leadership experience. Cengage Learning.
Northouse, P. G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 2007. Stephanie Galligan Account Manager.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
