Leadership and Management are two terms that have been used interchangeably throughout the years in many studies. They have been seen as synonymous, or to describe two different ideas. Leadership and management can be used together to achieve the common goal of an individual, in charge of an organisation. Leadership is a process of influencing a group to achieve goals, (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). According to (Robbins & Coulter, 2012), "a leader is seen as a person who can influence others and who has managerial authority. It is what leaders do. Leadership falls under the management functions, so if at all possible all managers should be leaders. However management is coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively, (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). According to Robbins and Coulter; putting it simply, "management is what managers do".
There are seven traits that are associated with a leader, according to Robbins and Coulter; these are drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self confidence, intelligence, job relevant knowledge and extraversion. When discussing the drive of a leader; one is focussing on the level of desire that a leader would have to achieve; in other words how ambitious or determined that individual is. Encouraging others to follow, in an attempt to achieve a common goal, speaks to the leaders' desire to lead. A leader can not be a leader without followers. Furthermore in order to maintain the loyalty of the followers, a leader must display that they are someone who can be trusted and held to their word. If the followers see the leader as someone who can not be trusted then they will not follow. In addition leaders who believe in themselves will in no doubt convince others to follow them. A leader who displays self confidence will undoubtedly, easily encourage individuals to follow them. Having a high level of intelligence about your goal; what steps will be taken to get there and the ability to solve problems that will arise along the way, will make it easier for those following. A leader who knows much about the business that they are getting into is very important, as this allows them to make the necessary decisions to move the company in the right direction. Sociability and assertiveness are effective if a leader wants to accomplish his goals, for if they are silent and withdrawn not much will be achieved.
Leaders and the styles they used to lead were thought to be categorised into three categories. According to (Robbins & Coulter, 2012), "the three types of leadership styles were; Democratic, Autocratic and Laissez-faire". A democratic leader would be one that is willing to allow everyone to participate. This style was thought to originally most effective. In comparison to that, the Autocratic leader was one that that was seen more as a dictator, who allowed for little participation. Contrary to those, the Laissez-faire was a leader who was somewhat care free and allow for persons to be free in their decision making and completing the assigned work. This was similar to what (Likert, 1967) proposed when discussing Leadership. Likert stated that leaders were Exploitative, Benevolent, Consultative or Participative. The leader who was exploitative was almost like the leader who was autocratic, while the Democratic leader was similar to that of the Consultative leadership style, with the Laissez-faire leader being similar to that of the Participative leader.
Views on leadership in early years were also seen to be either transactional or transformational. According to Burns (1978), "transformational leadership is an ongoing process where leaders and followers engage in a mutual process of 'raising one another to higher levels of morality and motivation." The transformational leader as the name implies transforms or changes the followers. The transformational leader is one that encourages creativity among followers, they allow the followers to 'think outside the box' and come up with new ideas, which are shared with the leader. Through transformational leadership, the followers can achieve much. This is done through the leaders causing the followers to collaborate and work together rather than on their own. The transformational leader appeals to the emotions and values of the followers and in treating them as full human beings, promotes increased production and output. According to Bass (1985), "The transformational leader serves as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalise his or her ideals. To achieve all of this the Transformational Leader must possess a level of charisma. (Robbins & Coulter, 2012) states that a charismatic leader is "an enthusiastic, self confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in certain ways".
The transactional leader according to Robbins & Coulter (2012), is "a leader who leads primarily by using social exchanges (or transactions). This is contrary to the transformational leader. In transactional leadership the leader achieves productivity from followers or achieves goals through the fact that followers are rewarded according to their productivity. To put is simply, in transactional leadership the relationship can be seen as one of an exchange; i.e. you give me something for something in return. When the followers work well, they are reward and when they under perform, they are subject to reprimand. When things go wrong, the transactional leader takes no blame and the followers or subordinates are punished.
When one compares the two forms of leadership; one will note that the transformational leader encourage followers to aim to raise the level of their performance, while the transactional leader focus on rewards for performance. Furthermore the transformational leader encourages followers to "think outside the box" while the transactional leader rewards followers for following instructions. The two forms of leadership can be summed up in Theory X and Theory Y, with Theory X representing Transactional leadership and Theory Y representing Transformational leadership. These theories were proposed by Douglas McGregor. His Theory X stated that management role was to coerce and control the employees, as with the philosophy of "the carrot and stick" whereas with theory y; the management was there to develop the employees, so that they would release their potential and achieve the common goals.
Management is a complex activity that involves several principles, functions and business activities and has existed for thousand of years. Managers aim to get the most out of their employees and working towards doing the right things to complete the activities so that goals of the organisation are met. Henri Fayol, a French businessman proposed four functions of management. He listed these as Planning, Organising, Leading and Controlling. According to Robbins & Coulter (2012), "Planning is setting goals, establishing strategies and developing plans to coordinate activities". Managers set goals, establish strategies and develop plans to coordinate activities. There can be strategic plans which apply to the whole organisation and establish overall objectives. While there are also operational plans, which specify details on how the individual objectives are to be achieved. Organising is determining what needs to be done, how it will be done and who is to do it. Leading is said to be motivating, leading and any other actions involved in dealing with people. Finally Controlling is seen as monitoring activities to ensure that they are accomplished as planned. Those four steps are seen to lead to the achieving of the organizations goals.
Being goal oriented is one of the main features of management. Management functions are carried out in a series of steps. Consequently the steps within management can be revisited depending on what has happened previously. For management to be seen as successful there must be achievement of goals or objectives. Management is also seen as an ongoing process. It involves dealing with issues and problems and finding a way to resolve them effectively and efficiently. Furthermore management is required in all business, no matter how large or small. It is needed to direct those involved to achieve the goals that have been set. It is also seen as a group activity. The group must be guided and directed to achieve the goals that have been set. When the goals have been set, these plans will affect how the organisation is organised.
Some might say that there is a difference between management and leadership. The Great Man Theory proposed that Leaders are born not made. That theory went on to say that great leaders will arise when there is a need. In addition it stated that some people are particularly suited to leadership. As for management, it has been seen as just a career. Management is a position that is applied for and as a position of authority. According to (Kotter, 1990), "management is about coping with complexity, while leadership by contrast is about coping with change."
The differences between leadership and management are in the first instance that when it comes to the thinking process; leadership is seen to focus on the people, and thinking outside the box; being creative and taking risk, while managers on the other hand focus on individual things, the bottom line, maintaining the status quo and eliminating risk. Secondly when it comes to goal setting, the leader makes his vision clear to those who are following, while the manager executes plans, through detailed steps. Consequently the leader focuses on the future, while the manager focuses on the present and short term. Thirdly, when it comes to dealing with employees or followers; leaders focus on empowering those who are around him, on the other hand the manager seeks to control. Those in the leadership position have colleagues, while those in management positions have subordinates and only have colleagues in those who are in other management positions. Within this same category; leaders seek to form teams, while management focuses on delegation of duty. Management seeks to get the right person for the job, while leadership focuses on providing opportunities for development from within the organisations. When it comes to outcomes; management seeks to produce the results that are expected by the stakeholders; while leaders on the other hand are willing to change whether it is remarkable to position those around them and the organisation a competitive edge.
As it relates to the similarities between management and leadership; although they might go about achieving them in different ways; both leadership and management are both focussed on goals. In achieving these goals, they seek to use the right people and make sure they get the job done. Secondly they both seek to use the individuals around them; although they might motivate them in different ways, they both depend on these individuals. Thirdly they use the resources that are needed to achieving their goals. Fourthly they serve as a link between the followers and those in the case of managers the stakeholders.
When it comes to the question of whether it is better to be a manager or a leader, I am of the opinion that both leadership and management are necessary in today's society. Although the school might have a Principal there is no guarantee; that although that person has the power, they will be effective. Leaders and managers are strong are needed for today's schools to be effective. Leaders in the school that are able to motivate, inspire and take risk would be beneficial. Further -more mangers are needed to make sure that the school is run smoothly and functions effectively. Striking the balance between the two is the aim, no matter how challenging it might appear to be.
