Introduction to Leadership

Well Leadership and Management, Leaders and Managers are the terms which are often misunderstood and used interchangeably. So, to bring more clarity with the usage of these terminologies we present you with meaning and differences between the two. Leadership and Leader Leadership can be defined as one’s ability to influence and motivate others to bring the best out in them. It focuses on encouraging individuals to add more to the overall effectiveness of an organization. Leadership is often defined as a process wherein an individual, influences and encourages others to achieve the organizational objectives and directs the organization so that it becomes more coherent and cohesive to work. Moreover, a person who can bring out the change is the one who possesses the ability to be a leader. A good leader is the one who always looks out after others before himself and is proactive. Proactive refers to a leader’s tendency of being three steps ahead of others, thinking of all the possibilities of a scenario. Leadership is all about developing people, in turn helping them to reach their maximum potential. In the simplest of terms, Leadership is an art of motivating the people to help achieve a common goal. Talking of few Leadership qualities an effective leader should possess are: – Commitment towards the tasks and duties allocated, Ability to communicate well, taking the ownership of the tasks; Honesty and Integrity, Ability to take the right decisions and that too at the right time; Creativity and Innovation and lastly but the most important one the ability to inspire others. In the words of Mary Parker Follet “Leadership is not defined by the exercise of power but by the capacity to increase the sense of power among those led,” Management and Manager According to Mary Parker Follet “Management is defined as the art of getting things done through people.” Management can be defined as a social process which includes the effective and appropriate planning for different operations in an organization for the fulfillment of organizational objectives. A manager is an individual who is held in charge of a certain group of tasks or a particular subset within an organization wherein the targets are to be achieved within a stipulated timeframe. Management Functions The different functions of management in an organization are Planning Organizing Staffing Leading Controlling All the aforesaid management functions help an organization achieve its objectives. These five functions form a part of a body of practices and theories which help an individual to be a successful manager. The three levels of management which commonly exist in an organization are low-level, middle-level and top-level. Top-level managers are responsible for controlling and overseeing the entire organisation whereas middle-level managers emphasize on the execution of the various organizational plans and lastly the low-level managers aim at controlling and directing. The middle-level managers act as an intermediary between the low-level and top-level managers. In the simplest of terms Management is the manner in which a task is handled, and it comprises of the different supervising skills. For instance: Management could be about how an individual, deals with his/her personal finances. Understanding the difference between Leadership and Management Management and leadership skills are quite often regarded as one and the same to many businesses. The two activities are not synonymous with each other. Highlighting the difference between the two terms Leaders have people follow them whereas Managers have people work for them. A manager emphasizes on planning and coordinating the different tasks to be performed with an organization whereas Leader focuses on inspiring and motivating people. Management process can potentially aim at providing Leadership whereas the different leadership activities contribute at managing. There exists a profound difference between management and leadership and both play a vital role in an organization. Concluding Paragraph Well, Management is all about “ME” whereas Leadership is all about “YOU”. When I talk of the Management styles it simply refers to the inclusion of people to help in achieving the objectives of an organization. This means to involve people in accomplishing the objectives. On the other hand, Leadership styles are all about the application of the different methods to help you achieve your objective. Therefore, a successful organization is the one which requires the adequate and appropriate combination of both Management and Leadership. Thus a successful business owner needs to be both a strong leader and manager to help their teamwork towards the vision of an organization. We aim at updating you with the most useful, appropriate and informative content. This, in turn, emphasizes on making the toughest and complex of concepts comprehensive for you. Keep following us for the most recent updates and topics.