Management and Leadership

Essay by ryanray3 April 2006

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Most people think that management and leadership is the same thing but there is actually quite a difference between the two. They are often used interchangeably but they are actually two different concepts. Management is a function that must be exercised in any business; leadership is a relationship between a leader and subordinates that can energize an organization.

Leadership is one of the things that a manager needs to be successful. Management needs to be good at using the four main functions that we have spoken about previously and those functions are: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The difference in perspective between management and leadership is that managers think incrementally, while leaders think radically. Richard Pascale once said "Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing." I believe that this means that managers always do things by the book and follow company policies, while leaders follow the rules but also follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company.

In my opinion, this shows that a true leader is more emotional than a manager.

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. Some managers may not have very good leadership skills whatsoever but a good leader will make a good manager more often than not.

Management usually consists of people who are experienced in their field. A manager knows how each layer of the system works and may also possess a good technical knowledge. A leader may not be experienced in their field and could be a new arrival to a company who...