Management and Leadership

Comparison of management and leadership

When we talking about management and leadership, many dictionaries suggest they are quiet similar. Actually, there are some essential difference between leadership and management. This blog will compare the management and leadership and analyse the relationship between them.

 

Management is a processes of keeping an organisation functioning and they control or direct people in a group according to principles they have already been established. Leadership is setting a new vision and aligning people to the vision, and have a communication, motivation and inspiration with their followers. (Rebecca, 2013)

Management and leadership comparison

 

In summary we can say management is do things right while leadership do the right thing. On the other hand, there have some similarities and connection between management and leadership. The executive management involves a good leadership style. Although the management focus on manage people on the basis of their institution, they need the staff have a positive attitude to be managed. The good leadership can play a good role for guiding them. If a company want to run effectively, the management and leadership must exist in tandem. The management just know as target-setting, an excellent organisation also have good leadership. For example, in hospital, the manager might set target in a period of time. At the same time, the leader will show the leadership and inspire the employee to reaching the target.

 

The best approach to managing the work of subordinates may vary according to circumstances and individual characteristics.

 According to the CMI, currently, the general consensus has moved away from ‘command and control’ to management and leadership towards more consultative and participative approaches. I strongly agree that the best approach should according to circumstances and individual characteristics. Every organisation has their own internal factors and external environment conditions, so there is no signal ideal approach can apply to any organisation. The key to successful management is to fully understand both the inside and outside situation of the organization and have the effective response strategies. In addition, one of the important factors of the management is the communication. Therefore the relationship between the managers and members is essential for the management. How to deal with this relationship mostly depends on the different circumstances and individual characteristics. (Goleman. 2000). In details, In the manufactory industry, the common type of management is “command and control”, because the workers has limited space to bring their image into play. What they need to is just follow the rules, which is simple and easy, but it can make the work complete. For example, the famous company Foxconn, which is well-known for its strict management. However, In the hi-tech industry, the previous rules are not suitable any more. Because in this industry the core value is the imagination. The way of management should encourage all the employees to participate in the group. They all need to contribute their power to the company. For example, the famous headquarter Apple engaged each of their employees to come up with the creative idea for their company.

 

If I am a member of a team, I would like to be managed like… …

To sum up, no matter which approach the mangers apply to, the ultimate goal is to obtain the maximum leadership effectiveness. If I am a member of a team, I would like to be respected supported and accepted during the process of the work, due to it can give me more confident and motivation to work hard. Therefore, in my opinion, I do believe that be managed by the consultative and soft approach is more suitable for me. Another reason is my character, I can comply the provisos and complete the task in time without the manager’s control and command.

Reference:

Goleman. D. (2000). ‘Leadership that gets the results’. Harvard Business Review. pp:78-90.

 

Rebecca.R. (2013). ‘What’s the difference between leadership and management?’. [online]. Available from:

< http://careers.theguardian.com/difference-between-leadership-management > [Accessed at 2 March 2014]