Differences between Leadership and Management

Some writers treat managership and leadership as synonymous. But there are distinct differences between these two terms. They are as follows:

1. While management (manager) is responsible for various management functions such as planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling which relate to the total organisation, leadership (leader), which is one of the aspects of directing, influence the group in achieving the goals set by the management.

2. Management formulates broad policies to guide the operations of the enterprise, whereas leadership initiates activity for the accomplishment of its goals.

3. There can be leadership (leader) for completely unorganised groups, but generally, management (manager) is associated with the organised structure.

4. Leadership is the process of influencing the behaviour of others regardless of reasons. It may be for one's own goals and may or may not be congruent with the goals of the organisation, whereas management is concerned with the organisational goals.

5. While management is concerned with the promotion of the welfare of the entire organisation without given scope to vested interests, leadership influences the performance of individuals which will contribute to the attainment of group goals.

From the above, we can conclude that leadership is a part of management but not all of it. A strong leader can be a weak manager (if he is weak in planning or in any managerial duty) and similarly, a strong manager can be a weak leader.

Characteristics of Managers and Leaders I

(Source: "Managing the DreamrLeadership in 21st Century-Warren G.Bennis. Journal of Organisational Change Management, Vol.2. No.l, 1989.)

Importance of Leadership

An organisation comes into existence with certain specified objectives and hence there is need to direct the activities of its members towards the achievement of the objectives. Direction of activities in the organisation is effected by the leader. This emphasises the importance of leadership in achieving the organisational goals. According to Peter F. Drucker, good leadership is a must for the success of a business but business leaders are the scarcest resources of any enterprise. John G. Gloves, in his book, Fundamentals of Professional

Leader-boss Distinction

(Source: Effective Executive-The ICFAI University Press, Jan.2006, p.24.)

Management, states that "more failures of business concerns are attributable to poor leadership than to any other cause." This observation also indicates the importance of good leadership for the success of a business. Apart from this, the following points highlight the importance of leadership:

1. Performance of workers very much depends on their motivation. Higher the motivation, the better would be the performance. A good leader influences the behaviour of his subordinates in such a way that they are motivated to high performance.

2. A good leader creates confidence in his subordinates by giving them sound advice and by directing them for good performance. A good leader also sustains the enthusiasm of his subordinates and secures their involvement in the organisation goals.

3. Good leadership increases employee morale which in turn ensures high productivity and stability in the organisation.

4. A manager, in spite of his authority, may or may not have the ability to influence the behaviour of others. Further, the use of authority may not always ensure high performance. Whereas a good leadership by the use of influence can secure high performance. Hence, leadership helps in the use of formal authority effectively.

5. Leadership directs and unifies efforts of the individuals of a group towards the attainment of enterprise goals. In other words, in the absence of good leadership, the organisational goals of the enterprise would remain unfulfilled.