Contrast Leadership and Management

Leadership Theories Leadership is defined as the ability to influence others enough to gain loyalty or confidence of others who follow their direction. A leader therefore has followers. Leaders are able to step up to resolve crisis situations. They are very intelligent and can see a problem as an opportunity to apply new ideas in finding a solution. Leaders also have the ability to share a vision that will benefit others or the organization. They can gain the support and cooperation of others in following their instructions or objectives.

The ability to influence others by changing taping into their emotional response, personal attitudes or beliefs or even actions. Leadership style is transformational and it appears to be some traits that leaders have in common according to Aditya and House in "The Social Scientific Study of Leadership: Quo Vadis" (1997). Certain traits inherent in leaders are boundless energy, high intelligence (1997, 5-7) Leaders are most often people oriented and very socially motivated Aditya and House, 6).

It seems that leaders are most likely to take up their role when initiative is needed and when there is a challenge. They are also most motivated when held personally responsible for achieving success (Aditya and House, 6). Leadership that is strategic in providing direction to the company is distinct from management. Strategic Leadership provides vision and incentive that is directed at members in the organization or to outside stakeholders to achieve a purpose (Aditya and House, 1997, 8).

More specifically leadership involves decisions about the future goals of the company, who is to sit on the executive board, the type of markets to be pursued and restructuring the organizational infrastructure (Aditya and House, 1997, 8). Management on the other hand is more on a supervisory level which according to Aditya and House leads in a functional way such as "planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling" others (1997, 24). Managerial style is more transactional. The relationship in a management function are based on instructions from a leader in a position of authority.

Managers most likely have people assigned to work under their authority in an organizational setting. Also the team or workers under a manager are there to perform based on instructions given. The subordinates are not on the same level of authority therefore are not always empowered to give feedback to the manager. Subordinates understand that the manager is the designated leader and that in order to be rewarded in the job, they must perform to their satisfaction.

Managers also have a focus that is based on the objectives designated by the executive leadership of the company to meet specific goals of the department or organization. Managers work under constraints such as budgets and deadlines (1997, 27). They are expected to delegate the work that is performed to the subordinates that work under their direction. 2. In past years there was a misunderstanding about traits and leadership. Many researchers thought that a specific set of characteristics were necessary to become a leader.

Many of the early studies in the United States felt that certain traits were common to all leaders (Lord, 1986). Barnlund for example conducted studies where flexibility along with sensitivity to the needs of followers often determined if a person was a leader (1962). Regardless of skillsets, behavioral attributes, and intellectual aptitude, according to the Gardner were all required to be an excellent leader. However the result is a laundry lists of characteristics that no one person can possibly contain.

Then there is the situation where qualities not on the list were present, is this person still a leader even though they are a good listener and relatively unassertive. A couple decades ago researchers such as Wright and Stogdull started reviewing more of the types of traits that work together to produce success in leadership (1996, 35). They begin t combine groups of traits related to personality to specific situations. Still this is a very subjective manner to determine what makes a good leader (Wright, 1996, 33-37). 3.

In reviewing the various traits that were considered prerequisites for leadership in the mid 20th century attention turned to the actions of leaders vs. their inherent traits. With the shift to behavioral theories. At that time behaviors were documented as styles based on the way a leader functioned within the organization. Some of the most common theories of the 1960s was Blake and Mouton's Manager Grid (1964). There were four main tenets under behavioral theory.

The first was Concern for Tasks Style which referred to getting results to preset objectives given by top management. This focus required maximizing productivity and workforce management around meeting the company objectives (Wright, 1996). The next is Concern for People, this style focuses on the people or subordinates and meeting their needs in providing resources to resolve problems. The workforce is not considered a way to get results but are considered a valuable asset to the organization that should be invested in and developed.

Directed Leadership Style is the next tenet which is more traditional or top down in approach. Where the manager or leader tells subordinates what to do and when to do it. The subordinates under this style simply follow directions and do what they are told. The next tenet is Participative Leadership Style where decision making is shared between managers or leaders and subordinates who have valuable knowledge about the products, processes, or services of a company (Wright 1996, 36-37). There are times when these styles overlap. 4.

With contingency theory, there is no single way of defining leadership. It is contingent on the.