1.4 Management
Learning Objectives
Understand the differences between leadership and management.
Learn what managers can influence.
Understand typical activity patterns for those in management positions.
This section focuses on providing distinctions between leadership and management roles and functions.
Figure 1.3 Defining Management
Distinction between Leadership and Management
A single individual can simultaneously possess leadership and management skills. The coexistence of leadership and management skills in a single individual does not mean those skills have to occur or be expressed at the same time for either to be an accurate description of leadership or management behavior. Because of this, several distinctions between managing and leading can be made.
ManagingManaging roles describe the types of required activities that are common to most managerial and administrative positions. can function in the absence of leading, but leading cannot function without managing. If leading involves the art of influencing others to a desired long-term end state, then management involves the direction of day-to-day activities with more of an operational short-term focus.
LeadingAll leaders are managers, but not all managers lead. Leaders are competent managers and are involved in managing their professional activities as well as developing long-range goals and the organization’s vision. demands a greater awareness of the big picture than managing. That is, managing tends to be more task or process focused, while leading tends to be broader in its focus. Leading requires knowing how a task or process helps complete a larger objective so that those directly responsible for the end result of a given task or set of tasks may more intelligently manage their responsibilities. It seems helpful to once again use etymology; in this case, in regards to the word “influence,” with the idea of it being necessary for a leader to see the big picture or high view in order to effectively lead and influence.
Leading is more people oriented, whereas managing is more task and process oriented. Leading implies going in a specific direction with others willingly following. Managing, on the other hand, may include rewarding or coercive transactions to push people to attain a desired objective. Some managers indeed oversee the movement of workers; for example, in a warehouse where supplies are in constant flux, a manager is required to direct where products go, sometimes by actually taking a worker to see where the product is to be placed. A leader, however, evaluates ways a worker follows the leader. A successful leader considers how workers personally fit within the organization and knows the skills and qualities of the workers so that they are best placed.
Video Clip 3
Brian Moffitt and his guests discuss the difference between leadership and management.
Other areas of distinction between the role of a leader and a manager involve a focus on activities or behaviors such as planning, performance, and styles:
Planning. Management is focused on the day-to-day actions of the organization and on short-term planning results. Leadership focuses on the long-term vision and mission adhering to a well-defined strategic and operational concept developed by the leader’s executive team. As an example, managers spend a significant amount of time prioritizing and delegating tasks or the workloads of employees whom they supervise. They are concerned about the daily short-term goals necessary to move the organization forward. A logistic warehouse manager or shift manager of a restaurant are good examples of two people who hold managerial duties. These managerial roles focus on receiving a mission. Once they receive it, they plan the day by organizing their employees to attain the daily shipping plan and receive logistics or orders to accomplish the organization’s mission. In a fast food restaurant, the tasks are repetitive and use a well-defined process or method to accomplish tasks of selling the item to be purchased, preparing it, and distributing it to a customer. These managers ensure processes are in place by providing specific training and ensuring management activities are adhered to such as finance, scheduling, logistics, and employee training. Accountability of performance is supervised on a daily and routine basis. In this way, the manager brings predictability to the employees directly working for him or her.
In turn, leaders focus their attention on identifying and implementing changes to the processes the manager is responsible for supervising. Leaders concern themselves with broad concepts that affect the entire organization. They develop and articulate concepts that may streamline one or more functions of the organization to improve the product and ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Performance. Managers focus on maximizing individual and team performance in their particular section to ensure that their part of the organization is effective and efficient in performing their mission for the organization. Leaders focus on building cohesive teams.
Leaders are change agents for systems and articulate the concept and vision to employees. Managers capitalize on implementing the incremental changes to meet short-term goals. Leaders in this case may take the risk of introducing a sweeping change in technology, a product, or a logistic process. Managers are limited to incorporating the scope of change to the immediate circumstance they are faced with. Managers would report an issue that disrupted their producing a product or service to the leader. The leader would ascertain if a systems change is required, develop the plan, and authorize the implementation of the change by the manager throughout the organization. In these cases, leaders are willing to take a calculated risk that may result in a short-term loss in order to gain a long-term advantage.
Styles. Managers use transaction-based relationships in a top-down direct authority relationship with employees to attain routine and repetitive short-term goals provided by specific missions, objectives, and goals. Leadership involves using the leader-follower relationship to influence and achieve the long-term strategic objectives. Leaders influence action by attaining additional resources to assist in the accomplishment of tasks, clarifying objectives, and nurturing the values and beliefs of employees to help inspire and motivate them to action in attaining the leader’s vision.
Managers tend to use a transactional approach to guiding employees.
Source: © Thinkstock
Key Takeaways
Leadership and management can occur in the same person at the same time, but they don’t necessarily have to coincide for either to be an accurate description of leadership or management behavior.
Leading demands a greater awareness of the big picture than managing does. That is, managing tends to be more task or process focused, while leading tends to be broader in its focus.
Leading is more people oriented, whereas managing is more task or process oriented. Leading implies going someplace with others in tow. Managing, on the other hand, may include pushing people to the desired objective. Core components to the role of manager include demands, constraints, and choices. Demands and constraints are situational influences on leaders and affect the scope of the leader’s choices.
Exercises
List ten differences between leadership and management roles, styles, and activities, and discuss your findings with the class.
Define how managers influence followers or subordinates differently than leaders.
List five activity patterns that managers use.