Management and Leadership

Management and Leadership

Leadership is the process by which a person influences others to accomplish a

goal, and directs an organization in a manner that makes it more unified and logical. A

noted by Maxwell (1991), “True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It

comes only from influence, and that can’t be mandated. It must be earned” (p.14).

Leadership can also be described as a dynamic, relational process involving interactions

among leaders, members, and outside influences. Management is the process of

formulating a strategic vision, setting goals, crafting a strategy and then implementing

and executing that strategy. Drucker (1977) states “…management is a function, a

discipline, a task to be done; and managers are the professionals who practice this

discipline, carry out the functions, and discharge these tasks” (p.11). It focuses on the

entire organization from a short and long-term perspective. Leadership without

management sets a vision that others follow, without considering how the new vision is

going to be achieved. Management without leadership controls resources to maintain the

status quo or ensure things happen according to pre-established plans. Leadership

combined with management sets a new direction and manages the resources to achieve it.

Leadership within the United States Postal Service starts with the Postmaster

General and is passed through the channels down to the local postmasters and plant

managers. The Postmaster General’s vision is for the entire postal service, whereas the

plant manager’s vision is for his postal facility to achieve their expectations in the overall

postal service’s objective. For example, a First Class post...

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... air”. The leadership behavior, achievement-oriented, is best

suited for the personality as a whole, of the employees. We thrive on Employee of the

Month rewards, and Postal Incentive bucks, used to purchase postal items in our in-house

postal store. Being that we get thirty minutes for lunch, we often get an additional fifteen

minutes if we process a certain amount or keep the recycle rate under 2%.

References

Maxwell, J. (1991). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People

Will Follow You. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Drucker, P. (1977). People and Performance: The Best of Peter Drucker. New York, NY:

Harper & Row.

Heifetz, R. (1994). Leadership Without Easy Answers. Cambridge, MA:The Belknap Press of Harvard University.

Sloma, R. (1980). How To Measure Managerial Performance. New York, NY:

Macmillan Publishing Co.