– The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. Managers are organisers who focus on operations. His function is operational. Manager coordinates people and processes, the utilisation of human and material resources to achieve and organisation’s objectives. Managers of an organisation manage: themselves, people and relationships, policies and procedures, environments, financial and physical resources, information and technology, ideas, operations and processes.
Leadership is an art, and requires discipline, good techniques and self-expression. According to (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2011, p.297) effective leadership is the forefront of most organizations and strategic planning exemplifies this philosophy. An effective leader has the ability to motivate and influence others. Leadership influences organizational performance depending on the level to which the leader enables managers and team leaders to plan, organize, control, and act effectively. By accepting authority, responsibility, and accountability, managers can confidently face though situations that require decisions made.
There are a number of models that have been developed to analyse leadership styles and to help me explore my own, I am going to use Douglas McGregor’s “XY Theory”, Ken Blanchard’s “Situational Leadership” and John Adair’s “Action Centred Leadership.” Douglas McGregor – XY Theory X Y Autocratic Style Democratic style McGregor’s theory describes a continuum whereby “X” is at one end of a sliding scale and “Y” the other. It assesses the behaviour of the leader and the attitude of those being led and how this can have an effect, both positive and negative, on workforce motivation. Under the autocratic leadership style of “X”, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader. It permits quick decision-making, as only one person decides for the whole group and they keep each decision to themselves until they feel it needs to be shared with the rest of the group. But it also makes an assumption that workers need to be coerced into doing their jobs correctly and naturally leads to a much tougher approach with them, usually through a system of rewards and punishments.
E.g. Jack Welch, Steven Jobs Transactional leadership • Clarify the role and task requirements of subordinates • Initiate structure • Provide appropriate rewards • Display consideration for subordinates • Meet the social needs of subordinates 2. What are the two sets of behaviors that can be learned as an effective leader? • Task orientated behaviors: assigning employees to specific tasks, clarifying their work duties and procedures, ensuring that they follow the company rules, and pushing them to reach their performance
With Citigroup’s organizational culture it has guided employees toward the behaviors and attitudes that have put the company at risk. The company must revert to what is important that is the customers and focus on the core values of the organizations, and the vision of the organization. To change Citigroup’s organizational culture there needs to be a shared responsibility among the leaders of the company, managers, and employees. By having a shared responsibility will make Citigroup’s organizational culture more effective and productive. Having shared responsibility will allow each employee to achieve or accomplish his or her full potential, and acting with the greatest level integrity when dealing with one another, and customers.
L.L. Bean Relies on Its Core Values and Effective Leadership 1. What style of leadership do you think most L.L. Bean managers probably employ? I believe that managers’ effectiveness often depends on their styles of leadership, that is, their ability to influence others, either formally or informally.
www.businessdictionary.com. If we accept this definition to be true in its entirety, then it is also necessary to understand that motivation can be diverse just as people are diverse and that motivation can change within a person depending on their day to day situation. Professor Edwin A. Locke, American Psychologist and pioneer of the Goal-Setting Theory proposes that intentions to work toward a goal are a major source of motivation. The detailed concept conveys that specific goals give an employee a clear understanding of what is the task at hand and how much effort needs to be expended. (Robbins & Judge, pg
Path Goal theory According to the original theory, the manager’s job is viewed as guiding workers to choose the best paths to reach their goals, as well as the organizational goals. The theory argues that leaders will have to engage in different types of leadership behavior depending on the nature and the demands of a particular situation. It is the leader’s job to assist followers in attaining goals and to provide the direction and support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the organization’s goals. A leader’s behavior is acceptable to subordinates when viewed as a source of satisfaction, and motivational when need satisfaction is contingent on performance, and the leader facilitates, coaches, and rewards effective performance. The original path-goal theory identifies achievement-oriented, directive, participative, and supportive leader behaviors: • The directive path-goal clarifying leader behavior refers to situations where the leader lets followers know what is expected of them and tells them how to perform their tasks.
In addition, management controls the process as well as providing the path, rules, and resources to reach the companies goal (Kumle, 2006). Roles of Managers and Leaders Some say that the difference between a manager and being a leader is that management is career while leadership is a calling. Being a leader, one has to have a clearly defined convictions and most importantly, the courage of one’s convictions to see them manifest into reality (Kossoff, 2011). Effective leadership skills are developed and refined by time, experience, and a true desire to be more than just a manager, but a true leader. What roles do managers and leaders play in today’s environment?
In this essay I aim to explore the meaning of leadership and to examine the relationship and the relative importance of management and leadership in the engineering industry. Discussion There are many theories as to what a leader is. Of these theories Bennis (1989) believes that leadership is about inspiring and supporting people, while Fenton (1990) believes that a leader questions assumptions, is suspicious of traditions and has a preference for innovation. According to Naoum (2005) leadership has also been defined in terms of group processes, personality, power and goal achievement. Though the theories are numerous, those mentioned above cover the assumptions of most.