Leadership

Management and Leadership are the two sides of the same coin Lt Cdr Siddharth Rana (04912N) “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” - Peter Drucker 1. Societies have been arguing and writing about the science and practice of management since the early years of the last century, and about leadership for at least 2000 years, all in an effort to demystify both. Are Leadership and Management different or same' Is management, in fact, a practice, an art, or a science' Are leaders born or made' The argument continues. 2. The terms “leadership” and “management” are seen very differently by diverse people. Some individuals see these terms as synonyms and frequently use them interchangeably throughout phrases and sentences. Others approach them as extreme opposites; so extreme, in fact, that they would argue that you cannot be a good manager and a good leader at the same time. Still other people reside somewhere in the middle and realize that while there is a difference between leadership and management, with the right knowledge an individual can successfully navigate both from the same position. 3. Today’s groups, organizations, and teams need both effective leaders and effective managers to run a successful operation. While some obvious similarities (i.e. they both involve influencing constituents or employees; authority and power are generally given with both positions) can be found between leadership and management, there are also some striking differences (i.e. management is often more task-oriented; leadership is often considered more inspirational and visionary). For the purposes of training, leadership and management are defined somewhat differently; nonetheless, it is still understood that one person can work efficiently in mastering both fields. 4. Organizations – both military and civil, today are recognizing that the roles of management and leadership are deep, complex, and personally challenging, in addition to time consuming and sometimes emotionally exhaustive. On occasion, some question their role and their interest in pursuing that role. Reflective questions like, “Do we really need a leader when a manager can suffice'” and “Are we capable of developing good leaders'” are not uncommon. It seems reasonable to ask such questions, given the scope of work that needs to be done, and the ever-increasing inside pressures from those at the top and the bottom, and the outside pressures of global competition. Effective Leadership And Effective Management "Some leaders cannot manage— some managers cannot lead." 5. Throughout life, we will be called to play many roles. Two of the most important work roles relate to that of leader and manager. In business and in government, one must be both good at both management and relationship effective as both a manager and a leader. These roles are extremely complex, typically requiring university degree(s) and thousands of hours of practice. Management and Leadership Defined 3. The exploration of management and leadership must begin by examining and critiquing classic and current theories of management and leadership, and how they have impacted and shifted management thinking and practice over the last century. 4. In the past, thinkers have referred to management and managers quite separately from leadership and leaders. To manage was to plan, organize, direct, and control – a way to reduce chaos in organizations and to make them run more effectively and efficiently. To lead was to motivate, inspire, guide and coach - “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal”. It is only recently that we have begun to describe the two roles in conjunction with each other. Managerial leadership describes managers as leaders and leaders as managers, a combination that compliments and balances the needs of changing organizations, and a combination that suggests the need for combined models and multiple frameworks to strategically and tactically navigate the future before us. If management is a process of producing order and stability, and leadership is a process that produces change and movement, there does appear to be an overlap of both roles, whether at the manager level or CEO level. “When managers are involved in influencing a group to meet its goals, they are involved in leadership. When leaders are involved in planning, organizing, staffing, and controlling, they are involved in management. Both processes involve influencing a group of individuals toward goal attainment. 5. The evolution of management and leadership models and frameworks are works in progress, and the process of both is becoming more complex, challenging the conventional thinking and wisdom of the past. We are in search of more integrated models to serve our thinking and actions in the future, and to meet the increasing needs and ensure the future success of our current and up-and-coming competent, ethical, leaders. Leadership And Management - Understanding Management "Not one talks about managing fun and play." — Anonymous 6. Management focuses on work. We manage work activities such as money, time, paperwork, materials, equipment, etc. Management focuses more on the following aspects:- a) Planning b) Organizing, c) Controlling d) Coordinating e) Directing f) Resource use g) Time management h) Logistics and the supply chain i) Finance and money management j) Budgeting k) Strategy l) Decision Making m) Problem Solving 7. The first five (planning, organizing, controlling, directing, and coordinating) are often listed in the management 101 texts as the major functions of management. Certain conceptual skills such as decision making, strategy development, and problem solving seem to fit better in management verses the leadership area, but you can go either way. Some thinkers like to say - "Managers are decision makers." but that doesn't seem quite right. A better description is, "Executives are decision makers— managers are problem solvers." However, some things some things should be managed and others should not. People should not be managed—it implies we treat them like a thing. Leadership and Management - Understanding Leadership "I don't like to be managed. But if you lead me, I'll follow you anywhere." 8. Leadership has an essential focus on people and how they can be influenced. Leaders focus more on: a) Vision b) Inspiration c) Persuasion d) Motivation e) Relationships f) Team work g) Listening h) Counseling i) Coaching j) Teaching 10. The essence of the difference between Leadership and Management can be understood from the following table:- |Functions of management |Leadership | |Planning |Establishing direction | |Establishing agendas |Creating vision | |setting time frames |Seeking commitment through culture building | |Budgeting (prioritising and allocating resources) |Identifying strategies | |Organizing / staffing |Aligning people | |Providing structure |Communicating goals | |Establishing rules and procedures |Seeking commitment through culture building | |Deploying people (placement) |Building teams | |Controlling |Motivating and inspiring | |Designing incentive schemes |Inspiring and energizing people | |Review against plans |Empowering people | |Initiating corrective actions |Satisfying unmet needs of the people | 9. However, It is often difficult to understand the difference between managers and leaders. Do managers lead' Do leaders manage' To understand how these two concepts are distinct yet different, here are some ways to understand them:- a) Course and Steering. The word "leadership" comes from the Old English word "lad" for a "course". The word "management" comes from the Latin word "manus", the hand, from which we also get "maintenance" and "mainstay". Leadership guides by setting a ship's course. Management keeps a hand on the tiller. b) Growth and Survival. Organisations are no different from any other living organism: they need both to survive and grow. Survival is necessary in order to meet the basic requirements of life: in individuals, food, water and shelter; in organisations, a profit, customers, premises, and work. Growth is also necessary so that, like the individual person, an organisation can make the most of what it is capable of. The maintenance of the organisation is essentially a management function: measuring, looking back, assessing, taking stock, taking careful decisions. Taking the organisation into areas of growth, change and development, to make the most of it, is what leadership is all about. c) Resources and Potential. Management measures what it can count and see. A person in the enterprise is described by their name and title, measured by their output, listed in the database according to their skills and added in the accounts under the heading "manpower resources". Management deals with the past and how people performed to date. Leadership,on the other hand, sees people as capable of things you cannot measure and doing things they never thought possible. It deals with the future and how people could perform if their potential were realised. d) Left and Right Brains. The left hemisphere of the brain is the seat of our logical and rational thinking. The right brain is the seat of our imaginative, creative and emotional thinking. While these two sides are distinct, they also work best when whole. The left brain is an analogy for management. It deals with what can be counted; detail; control; domination; worldly interests; action; analysis; measurement; and order. The right brain is an analogy for leadership. It deals with what cannot be counted; seeing things as a whole; synthesis; possibilities; belief; vision; artistry; intuition; and imagination. e) The Seven S’s. Richard Pascale says that the processes that take place in organisations fall under seven "S" headings: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, staff, skills and style. The functions of strategy, structure, and systems are the hard S’s and the proper concern of managers because they deal with things or technology. The functions of staff, skills, style, and shared values are the soft S’s and the proper concern of leaders because they deal with people. f) Art and Science. John Adair in his book "Leadership" compares management and leadership to the old dichotomy of Art and Science. Managers are of the mind, accurate, calculated, routine, statistical, methodical. Management is a science. Leaders are of the spirit, compounded of personality and vision. Leadership is an art. Managers are necessary; leaders are essential. g) Short-Term and Long. When an organisation thinks about now and the nearfuture, it thinks of itself as a production unit. It sees the problems it might face as technical problems needing technical answers. When an organisation thinks about the distant future, it thinks about building, learning and growing. It seeks to identify and develop its opportunities. It defines itself by what it is, not by what it does. The difference between short-term and long-term thinking is the difference between an organisation that holds on tight to what it has and an organisation that stays loose and lets things grow. Organisations that need quick fixes rely on managers. Organisations that want to grow rely on leaders. 10. In a nutshell, the difference between leadership and management can be summed up as:- a) Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, ie: a leader is the spearhead for that new direction b) Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. 11. The difference between leadership and management can be illustrated by considering what happens when you have one without the other. Leadership without management sets a direction or vision that others follow, without considering too much how the new direction is going to be achieved. Other people then have to work hard in the trail that is left behind, picking up the pieces and making it work. Eg: in Lord of the Rings, at the council of Elrond, Frodo Baggins rescues the council from conflict by taking responsibility for the quest of destroying the ring - but most of the management of the group comes from others. Management without leadership controls resources to maintain the status quo or ensure things happen according to already-established plans. Eg: a referee manages a sports game, but does not usually provide "leadership" because there is no new change, no new direction - the referee is controlling resources to ensure that the laws of the game are followed and status quo is maintained. Management without leadership, plans, organizes and controls the resources of the organization in such a way that the predetermined goals are achieved. So, if the goal is to increase the production, management shall plan, organize and control the resources in order to increase the production. This will be a continuous cycle. The status quo shall be maintained. It works in the same way as a referee works in a game. He ensures that the resources (players) are working according to the already established plans (rules of the game). Leadership combined with management does both - it both sets a new direction and manages the resources to achieve it. Eg: a newly elected president or prime minister. Leadership without management, like management without leadership, is a futile exercise. What is the point of setting a new direction when there are no guidelines on how to follow the new direction' The role of a leader is like the role of a team captain. He needs to change his strategy (to be offensive or defensive), in view of the proceedings of the game. But even if he brings the desired vision, there is no point if other team players do not work together towards that direction. Thus, from the above example it is clear that a game can be won if the captain (leader) provides able direction to his players (followers) considering the way the game is progressing. Similarly, no game can be won if the referee doesn’t make sure that the players (resources) are following the rules (predetermined goals). Though in a game these two roles are performed by different people, in real situations it is one person who has to perform the two roles of a good manager and an effective leader, together. 12. Therefore, the difference between management and leadership can be considered like the difference between male and female, sun and moon, night and day, fat and thin, hot and cold, coming and going, and so on. They are two sides to the same coin. In being the one, we see the other. While different and distinct, they are parts of the whole: essential contrasts, that in distinguishing, make clearer the other. 13. But, while leadership and management both have essential roles in the function and effectiveness of organizations, they cannot be clinically classified as same thing. They are, in fact, distinct and separate processes, serving different purposes. Management provides the organization with predictability, consistency and stability. Leadership positions people and organizations for change. The danger of failing to make the distinction between management and leadership is that people mistakenly begin to equate leadership — a process of influence — with a position of authority. And many have encountered the unfortunate situation where an individual charged with managing an organization has been placed in a position of authority but has lacked the ability to exercise effective leadership. Separating "Leading" from "Managing" Can Be Destructive 14. Another view is that to be a very effective member of an organization (whether executive, middle manager, or entry-level worker), you need skills in the functions of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating activities -- the key is you need to be able to emphasize different skills at different times. Yes, leading is different than planning, organizing and coordinating because leading is focused on influencing people, while the other functions are focused on "resources" in addition to people. But that difference is not enough to claim that "leading is different than managing" any more than one can claim that "planning is different than managing" or "organizing is different than managing". The assertion that "leading is different than managing" -- and the ways that these assertions are made -- can cultivate the view that the activities of planning, organizing and coordinating are somehow less important than leading. The assertion can also convince others that they are grand and gifted leaders who can ignore the mere activities of planning, organizing and coordinating -- they can leave these lesser activities to others with less important things to do in the organization. This view can leave carnage in organizations. Leadership and Management – The Ethics Question 14. We also must remember that management and leadership represent different roles within an organization, but not different classes of people. In a fortunate organization, the same individual may be both an expert manager and a skillful leader. Many thinkers have the tendency to describe leaders and managers as different types of people and cast leadership in a positive light and management in a negative. In their 1985 book Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge, authors and leadership gurus Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus state, “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing.” Since that time, this cliché has been repeated many times. But what are the implications of this thinking' Does this mean it is OK for a manager to do the wrong thing' Does it mean that a leader does not need to do things right' It is apparent that the answer would be negative. 15. .Bennis and Nanus were not alone. This line of thinking was prevalent 15 to 20 years ago, during one of the most prolific periods of leadership writing ever, and the influence can still be seen today. Many management students, after reading a year-old leadership text, came to the conclusion that a leader without ethics is only a manager! It is important that we get beyond these good-bad distinctions associated with leadership and management and leaders and managers. Not only can the two coexist, they must! 16. Organization need both efficient managers and inspiring leaders to succeed. Effective organizations competently budget, plan, organize, staff, control outcomes, and solve problems to achieve expected results. However, those same successful organizations also must establish and communicate a clear direction for the future, align people's efforts with that direction, and motivate people within the organization to overcome obstacles to change and transform the organization as necessary. 17. In most nations, the responsibility for management tasks falls either to government agencies or large private enterprises, most all of which function as bureaucracies — organizations typified by their formal processes, standardization and procedure. Generally speaking, as bureaucracies, organizations are “over-managed” and “under-led.” It is important therefore, that organisations chart out clearly what skills they really wish their employees must possess, like the ability to establish and communicate a clear vision, the ability to align efforts with the direction that needs to be headed, and the ability to inspire people to overcome the obstacles that stand between them and the organization's strategic vision. 18. Thus, at the end the following pints must be remembered :- a) Leadership is an influence relationship; management is an authority relationship. b) Leadership establishes direction by developing a vision for the future. c) Leadership communicates vision and aligns people's energy with that vision. d) Management establishes structure and delegates authority and responsibility. e) Leadership energizes people and inspires them to overcome obstacles to change. f) Management monitors results, adjusts plans and solves problems. g) Effective leadership brings about positive, needed change. h) Competent management results in predictability, order and consistent results. (j) Leadership and management are separate and distinct processes, but both are essential to organizational effectiveness. Leadership and Management: What is Timeless and Sustainable 19. Peter Drucker continually refers to the need for integrity, professionalism and innovation in the practice of management, particularly in times of adversity – these times. He makes the additional point that integrity and professionalism are as much about the discipline and science of management as they are about the art of leadership. According to Drucker, “managers define what the organization is about through their actions and deeds”, while leadership “gives the organization meaning, defines and nurtures its central values, creates a sense of mission, and builds the systems and processes that lead to successful performance”. Managers’ actions and deeds reflect the values of the organization through the decision they make, the people they hire, the people they fire, and how they pursue their goals. In the long run, the integrity of management reflects the ethics and morals of the organization. 20. Given the changing face of management and leadership, Drucker believes, that knowledge was/is the only meaningful resource and the key to personal and economic success. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for any one person to be the expert on all aspects of the work that needs to be done, and this is true in a wide variety of contexts ranging from the R&D lab to the executive suite”. As a result, traditional models of leadership are in question, and some believe that the future of leadership is in the ability to promote shared leadership in a team-based environment. Developing leaders is a current, critical focus and concern of organizations – managers’ as coaches and mentors is, in effect, recognition of the need for building systems that encourage and produce new leaders to ensure organizational survival. “The manager is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business…in a competitive economy, above all, the quality and performance of the managers determines the success of a business; indeed they determine its survival.” It is in this way, organizations and their leadership create value for both shareholders, and society. Importance of Managerial leadership. 21. The requirement of managerial and leadership roles of managers bring forth the importance of managerial leadership in an organization. Togetherness of managerial and leadership qualities leads to effective task performance and fuller achievement of organization goals and human satisfaction. Management is based on the formal authority of managers. Whereas, being leaders of work groups enables managers to achieve results on the basis of inter-personal relations. The leader manager identifies himself with the work group. He acts as an intermediary between his subordinates and the top management. He takes personal interest in the development of his subordinates, helps them in overcoming individual problems through advise and counsellings, creates appropriate work environment and builds up team spirit. As a result the leader manager is able to develop better team work. The subordinates willingly accept his guidance, advise and direction and are inspired as a group to accomplish the specific goals. 22. In spite of efforts made to understand leadership as distinct from management, leadership is also studied as an essential element of management along with planning, organizing, staffing and controlling. This view depicts leadership as an important function of management or to make it simpler, leadership is shown as an important managerial role. In this managerial function thrust is on creation of long term vision, development of values, culture and behaviours necessary for pursuing the vision and inspiring people for voluntary commitment to organizational cause. And yet at the same time it is leadership, which is responsible for designing and developing a suitable management system for the organization, to ensure systematic and orderly accomplishment of desired goals. Leadership and Management - the interplay 232. The importance of leadership in organization emerges from its role of creating and shaping organizational culture and setting a progressive direction for the organization. Without this there is no role for management, no cause for it to exist. Leadership creates a context for the management to exist. Management on the other hand, through well laid out processes and systems, ensures that effective leadership at every level is developed in the organization, as a driver for future growth. Leaders create future through strong ideas and leave strong imprint of ideology for the company on which the management system is designed. 24. When executives are involved in the functions of planning, organizing, staffing and controlling they are said to be managing. When they are involved in influencing people through inspirational words and actions for achieving the collective goals they are said to be leading. Leadership is about looking, thinking and bringing change in the organization, where as management is about ensuring order and consistency in the organization. In the absence of leadership, management is a stifling bureaucracy and devoid of clear ends (vision, mission or long term goals) and means (values and behaviors required in the long term). Also leadership without effective management may lack the discipline and coordinated effort to accomplish long term goals of the company. 25. Leadership is still in art form, where there is no best or worst way of doing it – no universal framework or models exist. On the other hand management is treated as science, where definite frameworks and systems exist to carry out the functions of planning, organizing, staffing and controlling. An organization is run on the strength of its management systems while leadership provides the vigour to look beyond and gallop ahead. 27. Both management and leadership skills are needed at the organizational, team, and personal levels. It's not a case of either/or, but and/also. Futurist, Joel Barker provides another helpful distinction between the two roles; "managers manage within paradigms, leaders lead between paradigms." Both are needed. Trying to run an organization with only leadership or management is like trying to cut a page with half a pair of scissors. Leadership and management are a matched set; both are needed to be effective. 28. Hence, leadership and management may be considered two inseparable and intertwined aspects of any organizational reality and are, in effect, two sides of the same coin, without one the effectiveness of other is jeopardized.