Distinguishing between management and leadership functions

Management and Leadership

There is an abundance of well-researched literature on the roles and functions of leadership and management. The perspectives vary from business, to military to education. The facts are that leadership skills and management skills and techniques vary from industry to industry and from person to person. This paper explores some of the ideas put forth from a variety of sources.

Peter Spurgeon and Robert Cragg (2007) contend the current attention paid to the importance of leadership has diminished the value and contribution of management. The authors assert that the discussion concerning leadership and management, at the most extreme, is inclined to portray leadership as 'good' and management as 'bad'. These constraints are rooted in the proposition that people do not want to be managed, with its connotations of bureaucracy and control, but are happy to follow a leader toward a vision. At the core of this perception is the belief that leaders are concerned with the future and with the people in the system, while managers are focused upon greater efficiency and immediate results.

The traditional view of a manager's functions, according to Spurgeon and Cragg (2007), are as an administrator working on short-term goals within the current systems and structures. The manager focuses upon making that which exists as efficient as possible. The authors describe the basic functions of management as planning, budgeting, organizing, and controlling resources and problem solving. These managerial activities, they assert, are most appropriate when organizations are basically stable and relatively predictable. On the other hand traditional view of a leader' functions are of one who takes a long-term, big picture, perspective and endeavors to initiate change for the improvement of the organization. When organizations need to adapt and change to new circumstances then leaders who challenge, motivate and inspire others towards a new vision are critical.

The framing of the functions of management and leadership in this way can result in limiting the capacities of these roles by assigning labels that restrict movement between them. This is, of course ridiculous and unrealistic say Spurgeon and Cragg (2007). Managers often have responsibility for change and major implementation in programs and projects and they must, at times, communicate and convince other staff of the merits of pursuing altered goals and tasks. This is a leadership function. Of course it maybe that some individual managers are inept at fulfilling this particular facet of their role. This then for that individual might become a dividing point between their capacity as a manager and their inability to perform as a leader. Conversely, a person can be a good leader and not be a capable manager. For example a charismatic leader may be able to express an articulate an inspirational vision of the future, but have little notion of the steps necessary to achieve that vision. Delivering and maintaining change inspired by leaders, requires management expertise. Thus the two functions support and complement one another. They vary in emphasis and are more or less appropriate at different times depending on circumstances.

The functions of a manager are appropriate when defining and structuring tasks, when understanding operational constraints and the options available to complete the task, when task is limited to a specific and limited area of work with clear boundaries, when the work being undertaken is well understood and exists within an existing set of parameters and when the environment in which the task is conducted is stable and predictable and the most important outcome of the task is improved efficiency. The functions of a leader are appropriate when the ability to perform the task goes beyond what is currently being done and there is a need to develop a long-term vision, when the task is not routine and requires innovative thinking, when there is a need to inspire and motivate others in undertaking the task, when there is a need to establish momentum and keep things moving in a new direction in order to be successful, and when the task is required because the external environment is unstable and changing rapidly (Spurgeon & Cragg, 2007).

A Military Perspective

Raymond Shulstad (2009), a retired USAF Brigadier General, frames the concepts of leadership and management from the viewpoint of a career soldier. He draws a distinction between the functions performed by a leader and those of a manager. The author asserts the function of a manager include establishing objectives, planning, organizing, directing, and controlling execution, while the responsibilities of a leadership include setting the vision, goals, strategies, and priorities and then motivating people to fulfill them. Leadership entails the facilitation of management's plan. Another way to look at it is that things are managed and people are lead.

Shulstad (2009) identifies six characteristics good leaders must possess in order to be effective. First they must care about people. Organizational success depends on the efforts of the leader's people; therefore leaders must empower, inspire, enable, encourage, and support subordinates. Secondly, effective leaders set the organization's direction in terms of vision, goals, priorities, and strategies. In order to gain maximum commitment to organizational success, people need to understand the organizational goals, and the strategies employed to achieve those goals. The organization benefits greatly when its people view their jobs not just as a set of tasks they get paid to do, but as work that contributes to the organization's success. Next a leader must communicate effectively. It is imperative that personnel in the organization understand the organizational goals and the part they play in achieving those goals. Everyone must know what is expected of them. An effective leader must also embrace and instill a positive attitude. A success-oriented, can-do/will-do attitude is important in order to overcome the challenges that will present themselves during the course of operations. An effective leader is proactive. They must not be afraid of making mistakes and when one is made they learn from it and move on. They strive to spend more time preventing problems and less time solving them. Finally, a leader must mentor and develop subordinates. They provide professional development opportunities and move their people to new positions in which they can continue to grow. They know that in so doing they are investing in the future of the organization.

The New Leader in a Modern World

Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz (2009) identify the qualities a new leaders need if they are to create a culture of leadership and be successful. A leader must have a clear and confident understanding of who he is, and a strategy to keep performing as a leader in a dynamic environment. Because he is the conscience of the organization a leader must possess a strong ethical sense. It is essential that a leader listens to, understands, and relates to the people in the organization in order to make them productive, fulfilled and motivated. To be able to understand the situations he and his organization must operate in, a leader must constantly take the pulse of the dynamic, complex and ever changing environment. Today's leader cannot be a slave to the organization, he must control it and he must be quick to harness ever changing technologies. This means the leaders has to cultivate curiosity in order to function in modern endeavors and situations.

Another trait of leadership Zinni and Klotz (2009) explore is the ability of a leader to communicate clearly and articulately with the organization and the public. He can no longer afford to be the faceless top of a chain of command. It behooves the modern leader to develop a variety of decision making skills, such as honing his intuition, learning to quickly recognize developing patterns and trends, and quickly communicating his directions and intentions. This also means that today's leader must be able to show the way through times of crisis and change. A leader's ability to calmly steer a course in times of turmoil is crucial to the survival of any enterprise. Finally, a modern leader needs to think and act strategically. He must plan out the future course of action and guide the organization toward achieving the vision he has articulated. He must be able to hold fast to the vision even as he adapts to an ever changing world.

Charlene Li (2010) addresses the changes technology has brought to the way organizational leaders conduct their business. Li talks of a new culture of sharing, in which more and more people are going online accessing social sites and sharing both positive and negative information concerning companies, their products and their policies. Social media has not only empowered customers, but has also given employees a new way to collaborate with each other, as well as new opportunities to publicly grumble about their jobs.

Li (2010) writes about how the information age is influencing today's leaders and managers. She contends one of the results of these new technologies is force leaders to open up and become transparent creating open leadership, which she defines as "having the confidence and humility to be in control while inspiring commitment from people to accomplish goals" (p.14).

She believes that the consequence of open leadership will be the establishment of new relationships that will generate new rules for leaders and how organizations are managed. In today's world, Li (2010) contends, leaders have to respect the notion that customers and employees have power. Once this is accepted as true, leaders can establish a real and more equal relationship with them and strive to build trust. In today's viral environment associations also come from the daily conversations that take place on new technologies like blogs, social networks, and Twitter. The constant successful interchange of people sharing their thoughts, activities and concerns results in relationships. The heart of any successful relationship is trust, which is typically is formed when people do what they say they will do. Furthermore, in order to facilitate open leadership a leader must nurture curiosity and humility. If sharing turns into messaging, and there isn't a free give and take of information, then balance is lost. Expressing curiosity about what someone is doing and why something is important to that person keeps sharing grounded and focused. The natural extension of curiosity is humility, the opportunity to acknowledge you have a lot to learn, and admit when you are wrong. Finally open leadership requires accountability, expectations of the relationship must be defined, and forgiveness.

Things will go wrong and mistakes will be made Li (2010) concedes, but in order keep relationships healthy a leader needs to move on and leave grudges and blame behind. This does not mean that failure is condoned; only that it is acknowledged and understood.

Conclusion

In the difficult and fast paced climate of the world today the relationship between the functions of manager and leader are more complex, with any distinction between the two being somewhat blurred at the edges. It is essential that we recognize what types of skills and approaches people need to apply in order to successes in a particular task, whether it is short-term or long-term. The significance of exploring this issue that it might shed light as to what we mean by the terms manager and leader and contribute to how we train and develop people to gain the appropriate skills.