Leaders_and_Managers

Leaders and Managers in Today’s Organizations Organizations refer to their upper managers and their boards as the leadership team. They both influence employees and direct work, but are they all leaders' What is it that leaders and managers do' Can leaders and managers be one in the same' Just because a person is a manager, does that make them a leader' This paper will try to answer these timeless questions using personal experience and perhaps a few experts opinion’s on the subject. What is a leader and what is a manager' Dictionary.com defines a leader as a person or thing that leads, and a guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group. The same source defines a manager as a person who has control or direction of an institution, business, and a person who manages, and finally my favorite definition, a person who controls and manipulates resources and expenditures, as of a household. Now that we have the definitions, we need to ask ourselves, is this what leaders and managers really do' In my experience with managers and leaders, the leader or manager depends on the characteristics of the individual. A leader is someone who is supposed to lead and be a guiding figure head, but this is not always the case. You can have the most intelligent, caring person in the world appointed as a leader of an organization, but if they are not a people person, or have an outgoing personality of some kind, they will probably fail. Some people were not meant to be leaders, no matter how many classes they attend. It is also my opinion, that a leader must earn the respect of their followers or employees if they want to be successful. The phrase that says that leaders are born and not made, may just be true. One example of a poor leader that comes to mind, was the captain of my second ship in the Navy. A captain is the leader of his ship and all decisions and policy issues come from him. He was a, “by the book” type of a leader. He was also very intelligent and knew his job quite well, but he was not a people person. By this I mean, he never spoke to or associated with his crew. His personal goals of advancing his rank seemed to always take priority over the needs of his crew. If there was ever an opportunity to get the ship underway to help out a senior ranking officer, or stay inport for some crew rest, we were underway every time. He was not respected by his staff or his crew. Is this really a requirement to be an effective leader' Perhaps not, but too much of this kind of leadership may result in crew inefficiencies and crew members wanting to leave the ship, and provide no incentive for crew performance improvement. Ultimately, I believe this organization will likely fail. A managers work is never done, is how the phrase goes, and this is so true. The text book even describes a typical manager’s day as hectic and unrelenting. A manager is continually acquiring information and assisting their subordinates, superiors and even people outside the company (Yukl,2010). In my experience in the Navy, I was a manager and was referred to as the “Leading Petty Officer”. I managed a division of 25 junior sailors, and my leader was my Chief. He was not really a good leader either, but that’s another story. As manager, I had a short term goal called the ships “Plan of the Day” to work through. It was my job to make sure my division completed every task on the schedule. It was the hardest job of my life. I spent most of my day putting out fires that would come up out of nowhere and had to make sure everyone was gainfully employed. Like a leader, I feel that a manager should be a people person and respected in order to be successful. It’s a fine line to walk from being a people person to showing favoritism, but it can be done. I always tried to put the needs of my subordinates above my own and tried my best to mentor my shipmates to. I have heard much debate in regards to leaders and mangers being one and the same. John P. Kotter wrote about leaders in his book, “What Leaders Really Do”. He writes, “Leadership and management are two distinctive and complimentary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment” (Kotter, 1999, P.51). This is the best description of the relationship between leaders and managers I have read so far. I don’t really think leaders and managers can be one in the same. A leader must be able to see long term goals, and managers have to deal with the daily or short term goals and work in the trenches, so to speak. Managers and Leaders may have similar qualities but their duties and responsibilities vary greatly. I also do not believe if a person is a manager, it does not make them a leader. Perhaps in some small way a manager may have leadership qualities. In order to be a successful manager, you must manage and lead or inspire your subordinates to complete their jobs. If a manager cannot lead their team, the team will fail. An example of this would be is disgruntled employees, increasing complaints from employees and eventually the customer. Organizations need to be led first, and managed second. Leadership is key to leading a company into a successful future. Companies need to find a balance when it comes to Leadership and Management. I don’t believe just anyone can lead or manage. I think, the best way leaders and managers can teach their successor’s is by example. Show your subordinates or followers how you want your business run and they will follow your example. If done correctly, hopefully your organization or business will be a successful one. References leader.(n.d.). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Lanuguage, Fourth Edition. Retrieved September 07, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leader Yukl, G. (2010), 7th ed. Leadership in Organization. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education. Kotter, J. (1999). What Leaders Really Do. United States of America: The Free Press.