Management and Leadership

Essay by KatinaccUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, June 2005

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Management and Leadership

Leading is establishing direction and influencing others to follow that direction. However, there are many variations and different areas of emphasis to this very simple definition. Whether you are an executive or an entry-level worker in your organization, it is critical for you to have strong skills in leadership. Leadership and management are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, these words actually describe two different concepts. In this paper I will discuss these differences.

Although management and leadership are often used interchangeably, there is a huge difference between a manager and a leader. There are two different ways of organizing people for managers and leaders. The manager uses a formal method and the leader uses passion. "Managers do things right, and leaders do the right things." (DeSpain, 2004, p.80). Managers efficiently manage processes, time lines, and resources to obtain desired results. They also excel at getting things done.

Good leaders excel at inspiring people to do their best because a leader is more emotional than a manager. Managers do things by the book and follow company policy. They tend to accept organizational structure and process as it exists although leaders seek the revisions of process. Leaders follow their own intuition which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. "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." (Fenton, 1990, p.113).

A manager may only have obtained his position of authority through education, time, and loyalty given to the organization, not as a result of his leadership qualities. Management consists of people who may be experienced in their field and have worked their way to the top of the...