AbstractThis paper describes the difference between leadership and management, followed by an examination of the role responsibility of leaders in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. It explains that a leader is someone who can offer a compelling invitation for others to take action, while managers manage and accomplish work through others. Today's leader needs a multitude of characteristics but most important is the ability to develop a vision and to articulate it. This paper critically examines and articulates key conceptual and practical differences between leadership and management through an analysis of the differences in the form, function and influence proces ...view middle of the document...
To achieve this, managers must undertake the following functions: Organizing, planning, leading and controlling.A manager cannot just be a leader; he also needs formal authority to be effective. For any quality initiative to take hold, senior management must be involved and act as a role model. This involvement cannot be delegated. In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self-motivated groups may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is not always required proves that leadership can be just an asset and is not essential for certain groups or organizations.Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically. "Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing" (Ikeda, 2003). This means that managers do things by the book and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. A leader is more emotional than a manager. Men or women are governed by their emotions rather than their intelligence. Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They have a preference for innovation.Often with small groups, it is not the manager who emerges as the leader. In many cases it is a subordinate member with specific talents who leads the group in a certain direction. Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the best guide-post for action and behavior rather than attempting to control others. When a natural leader emerges in a group containing a manager, conflict may arise if they have different views. When a manager sees the group looking towards someone else for leadership he may feel his authority is being questioned.Groups are often more loyal to a leader than a manager. This loyalty is created by the leader taking responsibility in areas such as: Taking the blame when things go wrong, celebrating group achievements, even minor ones, giving credit where it is due.The leader must take a point of highlighting the successes within a team, using charts or graphs, with little presentations and fun ideas. Leaders are observant and sensitive people. They know their team and develop mutual confidence within it."The leader is followed, the manager rules" (The University of Edinburgh, 1997).A leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice, whereas a manager must be obeyed. A manager may only have obtained his position of authority through time and loyalty given to the company, not as a result of his leadership qualities. A leader may have no organizational skills, but his vision unites people behind him.Management usually consists of people who are experienced in their field, and who have worked their way up the company. A manager knows how each layer of the system works and may also possess a good technical knowledge. A leader can be a new arrival t...
