Management refers to an art of coordinating and organizing things systematically and efficiently. It comprises of techniques used for dealing with and managing people of different ages to work together and achieve a common objective. Management involves planning, controlling, leading, organizing, motivating, and aiding in decision making. A manager is the person who is in charge of the activities of management in an organization.
Leadership refers to a skill of leading groups of people towards a prevailing direction. It is an activity of directing and guiding people to work together in achieving an objective; hence, it requires a sound vision of thinking across the borders. It mainly involves influencing a group of people or a person to ensure that there are enthusiasm and willingness to achieving a specific goal or objective. A leader is a person who possesses leadership traits. Such people usually get a large number of people, commonly known as followers (Brown & Thornborrow,2006). The leaders then act as their inspiration.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Management and Leadership have several similarities and differences as follows.
Similarities
Direction: Both management and Leadership is concerned with the allocation of existing resources in such a way in which they can be used efficiently. Both leaders and managers drive themselves to accomplish an ultimate goal, that is, to maximize profit and meet the long term objectives of the organization (Bush et al., 2019).
Alignment: Management and Leadership involves influencing the structure of work and the environment. Those on more prominent positions are expected to lead the rest in an exemplary way while those under them work according to the set spirit. Leaders and managers, therefore, can influence people to achieve a goal or fail
Relationships: Both management and Leadership involves working with various people. They are, therefore, expected to go ahead of the people, plan and determine the way forward. The subordinates and the followers are expected to follow their Leadership.
Personal qualities: Both managers and leaders are visionary. They both work towards achieving a common goal in an organization. Excellent leaders and managers are useful planners who plan for the organization on what is expected to be done. They are excellent communicators as well as good listeners since they are dealing with people who report to them. They then communicate to those above them. For example, the managing director reports to the CEO either through writing or verbally.
Outcomes. Both management and Leadership are anxious with achieving the goals set by the organization. They all involve working hard to ensure that a specific vision is executed and therefore, every manager and a leader focuses on the view.
Differences
Direction: Managers lays down the structure of work and delegates authority and responsibilities to the members involved in accomplishing a task. An example of a manager could be a director of an organization while the board chair is the leader.
Leaders, on the other hand, provide direction and develop an organizational vision. It is their responsibility to communicate it to the employees and inspires them to complete the task.
Alignment: Mangers strive to follow the policies and regulations of the organization in executing their duties. Management also deals with the technical dimensions of the organization and job content.
Leaders usually follow their instincts in executing their duties, for instance, encouraging their followers to do what he/she thinks is right Leadership majorly deals with the human resource in an organization. It deals with people and not job content.
Relationships: Effective management is built on leadership skills. Leadership stresses upon the building of an environment where every employee develops themselves and excel. Since Leadership is the potential to influence and drive a group effort towards the achievement of a goal, leaders should have the power to change. The influence originates from formal sources like that provided by acquiring the position of a manager in an organization.
Personal qualities : Management focusses on communication skill. The manager often works with employeesandother stakeholder; therefore, they should be proficient in communication.
Managers should be good listeners and should own the skills of non-verbal communication. They should also be in a position to lead by example since they are leaders in essence. They should be great planners, ready to take responsibilities that arise within the organization. For example, when a mistake occurs in place of work, managers should be able to handle it correctly without blaming others.
Leadership emphasizes the person's self-awareness. A good leader is expected to be always aware of their emotions. They should be able to know their emotional strengths and weaknesses so that they do not often come into conflict with followers. Such conflicts mostly arise up when an expected goal is not met (Renz & Herman, 2016). For example, failure to acquire enough votes during a national leadership election. Good Leadership involves knowing when the leader is overworking and when their work is flowing.
Apart from self-awareness, a skilled leader should have a sense of self-direction. A qualified leader should be able to direct himself in every situation. They should be well set to know how to organize tasks carefully, know how to handle tasks, and avoid postponing tasks. Leaders should have set visions and should always be working towards more significant goals
Outcomes: Managers controls the processes executing concepts and help in the identification and solving of problems. They are involved in taking low-risk approaches to goal achievement as they monitor the results. They then provide the expected results consistently to Leadership and other stakeholders.
Leaders, on the other hand, motivate and inspires and encourage employees to overcome change barriers. They take high risks approaches to solving problems. They aim to promote useful and dramatic changes. For instance, approaches to improving labor relations.
References
Brown, A. D., & Thornborrow, W. T. (2006). Do organizations get the followers they deserve? Leadership & Organization Development Journal , 17(1), 5-11.
Bush, T., Bell, L., & Middlewood, D. (Eds.). (2019 ). Principles of Educational Leadership & Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
Renz, D. O., & Herman, R. D. (Eds.). (2016 ). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John Wiley & Sons.
