Responsibilities and Duties of a Leadership

The differences and similarities between leadership and management

The terms management and leadership have been used interchangeably by many people who treat them as equals (Manion, 2005). However, these two are not the same though they are similar in some aspects. The following are similarities between management and leadership. Firstly, they both are areas that involve the ensuring that work is done as planned. They are thus both charged with the responsibilities of guiding employees or subjects to invest their efforts into work so that the organization can achieve its mission and vision as pre-defined. More so, they are terms charged with superiority in some organization given authority to use it to get things done (Daft & Marcic, 2009).

The following are the differences. Management involves a process of setting a pace of activities for achieving organizational goals through playing such functions as forecasting, organizing, coordinating, training and monitoring. Leadership, on the other hand, refers to the ability to influence people or in other words to make others follow. From here, one could say that a manager may use coercion to get things done while a leader will use inspirational means such as motivation and verbal encouragement to make people do what he wants. Leadership in many cases involves providing a hearing ear while management involves giving instructions which are to be followed without question. While a leader inspires people to follow him naturally, manager compels people for obedience (Manion, 2005). More so, being a manager requires a career in management. On the contrary being a leader is natural and sometimes considered a calling. A leader may thus have no organizational skills as a manager, but his vision unites people behind him (Daft & Marcic, 2009).

What are some of the qualities of a leader? Manager?

A leader possesses the exemplary character. He/she is a team player who walks the walks. He works with the people who influence their motivation in doing so. He creates trust and builds the intrinsic followership from the team. A leader is enthusiastic and optimistic. He believes in his team’s ability and makes them believe they will achieve the best no matter the circumstances. He is also confident and patient. He understands that errors must occur and gives a chance for correction (Manion, 2005). All the same, he exercises some standardized authority not to make people fear him but regard him/her as their leader.

A manager is, on the other hand, authoritative. He will use any means to get people working. Managers are result oriented. They set targets which employees have to reach failure to which consequences will be felt. They delegate and expect results by a certain specified time. For managers errors are practically punishable.

Can a person be both a leader and a manager?

In my opinion, it's hard to have a person who is a manager and at the same time a leader. As defined above, leaders are born while managers are nurtured. A person may be born with leadership qualities and treats others well just like a servant. He is there for them and guides them through problems. Suppose that person takes a degree in management and secures a managerial position in a large company (Daft & Marcic, 2009). What happens is that, in the first few days, the leadership traits will be seen. However, due to pressures, the heftiness of the task and the laid managerial foundation, he will start applying the managerial control tactics and gradually, his leadership traits will be overshadowed. Eventually, the leader changes into a manager. It is thus hard to find a person who balances the two sides (Daft & Marcic, 2009).

How effective is one without the other? Or one over the other?

I believe the two are needed for a company to progress. There have to be leaders and managers in the same company. That is because some leaders are too passionate and may never punish a wrong. On the other hand, managers may be too controlling which might sway the motivation of workers. As such, a company should have both for balance. A company with only leaders but no a few managers and an organization with managers with no leaders might collapse (Manion, 2005).

References

Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2009). Understanding management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Manion, J. (2005). From Management to Leadership: Practical Strategies for Health Care Leaders. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at Melda Research in best essay writing service if you need a similar paper you can place your order for a custom research paper from best nursing writing services.

"Janet Peter is the Managing Director of a globally competitive essay writing company.