Leadership and Management

Leadership and Management

Which personal style should managers adopt to ensure success? What is the most effective approach to managing the work of subordinates? These questions have been extensively researched and debated over the last century, and while the general consensus has moved away from ‘command and control’ to management and leadership towards more consultative and participative approaches, there is no single ideal, as the best approach may vary according to circumstances and Individual characteristics (CMI 2013).

Management is all about getting work done through others (Mullins 2010:434).Management uses human resource as a tool to accomplish their goals, they are more task oriented. It has well organised procedures and structures in doing a task like planning, organising, directing controlling etc. Management provides consistency in production or service industry due to its rigidity compared to other forms. But people like more free flow management. Everyone wants to be part of what they are doing. They should have a room for their efforts which gives a meaning to them. Due to these changes the management is going under transformation to be compatible with changing environment

Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to do and how to do, it brings together the individual and group efforts to achieve a single goal (Yukl 2010:26). Leadership is all about creating relationship, creating a trust and mutual understanding, making the followers aware about the strength and weakness and making them believe in their capabilities and empowering them by supporting and coaching towards the success.

There are some similarities between management and leadership which are both are involved in decision making, achieving objective, action oriented and responsible for the activities. In spite of all similarities what makes both distinct is the way both are being implemented or both have its on view in leading the people. Hence Leadership is different from management; it is most effective way of leading people in the current environment. The video tells us important of long term focus and need of good leaders who are ready to lead.

Source (CMI 2014)

The term management and leadership are used by people interchangeably but both have different meaning and have different aspect.

The two effective leadership styles are:

Empowering- One of the most effective style of leadership to lead the people. It’s one type of Lassies – Faire Leadership. In this style the subordinates are empowered by supporting and encouraging them to do more risky task by delegating the responsibility to them. This empowers them to take their own decision and bring their idea into practice. They are responsible for the outcome which makes them serious and conscious about the decisions that are being undertaken by them. It has clear rules, regulations and procedures to follow but they have the authority and responsibility. The helps in reducing the time for decision making and be pro-active in this changing world. Empowering motivates employees by making them feel they are being recognised and has some responsibilities which improve the commitment and productivity (Davies, & Brundrett, 2010). The empowerment is done in companies which spread across the world and has many branches to reduce time span of decision making. This is mainly started in America but now being adopted by all other parts of the world.

Democratic leadership style – A democratic leader is a person who understands and values the ideas, suggestions of his subordinates. He works along with the group towards the achievement of the goals of the organisation. There is a mutual understanding between the individual achievement, group achievement and organisational goals. At the time of decision making and making policies the employees are also included. Their suggestions and comments are taken into account while making decisions to be a democratic leader. This creates a trust among members which helps to reduce observation level over the subordinates. Richard Tapia who won award foe leadership excellence from President of Obama said that “Leadership understands, motivating and making the people believe in their abilities and skills and guide them towards the success”.

Leadership Styles (YouTube 2014)

I agree with the point of view of CMI as there is no perfect way of leading people. Every style has its own merits and demerits. The way of leading people is based on the various factors and situation. The commanding control is not applicable all the time and in some situation it can be the best style. Time has changed people have changed and the successful way is to accommodate everyone in the path of success by considering each and every one who is contributing to it.

The two leaders who have influenced me are Richard Branson and Barack Obama. Even though both are in different sectors they have shown their capabilities, energy and vibrancy in involving and leading people.

In conclusion every business requires good mangers and leaders. A manager alone cannot lead the organisation and a leader alone cannot manage the organisation. The companies are looking for hybrid people who have the qualities of a leader as well as a manager. Management need a change of direction (Managers.org.uk 2014).Leading and managing the people in the right direction towards the right goals in a right path is essential for the survival and success of business.

References
CMI, (2014) Management 2020: Leadership For Long Term Growth [online] available from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg62sdFYGRc#t=98&gt; [10 September 2014]

Davies, B., & Brundrett, M. (Eds.). (2010). Developing successful leadership (Vol. 11). Springer.

Managers.org.uk, (2014) Home – CMI [online] available from <http://www.managers.org.uk/&gt; [10 September 2014]

Mullins, L. (2010) Management And Organisational Behaviour. 4th edn. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall/Financial Times

YouTube, (2014) Seth Godin On The Difference Between Leadership And Management [online] available from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx2SV2bYSfU&gt; [10 September 2014]

Yukl, G., George, J. and Jones, G. (2010) Leadership. 1st edn. [Boston]: Pearson Custom Pub.