The Difference Between Leadership and Managment

Some other definitions of leadership include; leadership is a force that leaders posses that causes followers to act and head in the intended direction of the leader (Hogue, 2013). Another definition by Gary Yukl is leadership is influencing others to understand what need to be done and how to go about getting it done (Yukl, 2006). Leadership requires the inevitable use of power to influence the thought and also the actions of other people. (Zalezink, 1977). The common thing, character or factor in the above definitions of leadership is influence; influence is a very important characteristic in leadership.

Compliance is what separates leadership from other influence-based formal authority. Finally, leadership results in the followers’ behavior, that is purposeful and goal-directed which must be in some organized setting (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009). Some people believe leadership and management are one in the same; however, this is not true because management involves planning, staffing, directing and controlling and, a manager is a person who performs these functions (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009). The term manager is a formal title given to a person who has authority by virtue of his or her position or office. (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009) Leadership, by contrast, is about influence; leaders use factors other than just their formal authority to influence subordinates.

(2006). The role of situation in the leadership process: A review and application. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 5, 97-114. Retrieved from http://search. proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/215101905?account-34899 Papworth, M., Miline, D., & Boak, G. (2009).

Introduction There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define leadership (Stogdill, 1974). Therefore, it is very difficult to understand what leadership actually is. According to John Sculley leadership revolves around vision and ideas and has to do more with inspiring people towards direction and goal. A leader is a person capable of inspiring other people to do things without sitting on top of them with a checklist. Precisely, leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a desired goal (Northouse, 2012).

Managers have a many tasks to do on a daily basis, and one of the many tasks is their associates. Not all managers are capable to be leaders, in order to become a leader they must earn their associates trust, but also “inspire and motivate people to give their best” (Managing Leadership, 1996). Being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility and certain qualities that will make them an effective leader. A leader is defined as “someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority”, other than that they must “influence [their associates] to achieve goals”, which is also known as leadership (Robbins, Decenzo & Coulter, 2015). Theories based on traits, contingency, situational or transformational are just some leadership techniques

Similarly, the situational based organizational leadership theory also puts an important stress on the influence factor of a leader. Situational theory of leadership states in one of its elements that a leader who has gained the respect of his followers will be successful in leading his subordinates because he has a strong influence over them. The leaders are expected to clearly lay down their goals and objectives to their subordinates so that they understand their course of action, and this is one way of ensuring influence over followers. In the same way, transformational theory of leadership also stresses on the impact of influence on leadership. This is because in order for the leader to make a transformation among his

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Academy Of Management Perspectives, 23(3), 93-95. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rich, B., Lepine, J., & Crawford, E. (2010). Job engagement: Antecedents and effects on job performance. Academy Of Management Journal, 53(3), 617-635.

One of such scholars is Peter Drucker, a management guru who distinguishes the two processes as “Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things”. Whilst agreeing with him, I also want to add that Management and Leadership must go hand in hand because in modern times, “People no longer look to their managers just to assign them a task but to define for them a purpose, to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results” (Murray, n.d.). In the next paragraphs we will look at the difference between Management and Leadership through the lens of Peter Drucker’s distinction. Management is defined by Mary Parker as “the act of getting things done through other people”. Gardener defines a Manager as “an individual, who holds a directive post in an organisation, presiding over the processes by which the organisation functions, allocating resources prudently and making the best possible use of people” (Komives, Lucas, McMahon, 1946).

Retrieved 2014 from http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htm Northouse, P. G. (2012). Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Riggio, R. E., (2008). Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology, 5/E, Pearson-Prentice Hall