LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

It is very important to define the difference between a leader and a manager within an Enterprise. A manager is the responsible for maintaining order and a leader is the responsible for producing change or movement.

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The management Process reduces uncertainty and provides stability by components such as planning, organizing, controlling and problem solving. On the other hand, the leadership Process creates uncertainty and change.

Leadership and management are distinct, yet complementary systems of action. Effective leadership produces useful change, Effective management controls complexity, so, Effective leadership plus good management equals healthy organizations!

Leadership is the process of guiding and directing the behavior of people in the work environment, and it might be formal and informal. It is an everyday way of acting and thinking that has little to do with a title or formal position in an organization, reflecting a shared purpose. The Purpose is the missing factor, where we have to define why we do what we do. In this case, we have to take into account the Vision, Mission, rules of engagement and norms of behavior.

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The Early Trait Theories of Leadership attempted to identify what physical attributes, personality characteristics, and abilities distinguished leaders from others. There´s some evidence that leaders are more intelligent, verbal, cooperative, and have higher level of scholarship.

There’s some Behavioral Theories such as the Authoritarian, in which the manager has all the power and decision-making. The Consultative, in which the leader will talk to everyone involved. The Democratic, which keeps employees informed, and finally, the Laissez-faire, which is a “Hands off” style.

New Research in Leadership has shown the Transformational Leaders, who inspire followers to transcend their self- interests and achieve exceptional performance. The Charismatic Leaders, in which a leader’s use of personal abilities and talents in order to have profound and extraordinary effects on followers. The Authentic Leader, is a leader who is guided by explicit values that emphasize collective interest, enabling them to operate at high levels of moral integrity.  

Emerging issues in Leadership are Emotional intelligence, EI & Buddhism, Gender and Leadership, and finally, Servant Leadership, which Transcends self-interest to serve the needs of others.

Would you want to work in an autocratic, democratic, or consultative work environment? What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each?

I would like to work in an democratic environment, because it is a Participative style that keeps employees informed about things that affect their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities, in which I Could participate directly within the Enterprise giving them my own ideas and projects.

I think an advantage might be that Democratic Companies have better Ideas, because employees are the people who know the Business best, and they have valuable opinions in developing products or services, giving great insights.

Democratic Companies Work Faster, although the decision-making process can take time, the time and attention paid to everyone’s point of view only makes the execution phase faster once the decision is made. When employees have a say and understand the “why” behind a decision the execution is faster, more efficient and devoid of resistance. Democratic Companies Have Happier Employees. Having a say, and being treated as an intelligent human being makes people happy and creates a happier place to work as well! Theoretically the democratic is the best type of leader. The democratic leader makes no suggestions but asks for the groups opinions. The group is left to make its own decisions democratically which, are then “rubber stamped” by the leader.

The democratic style is very relaxed and people orientated, but with large groups it is unlikely that anything will get done because the group never stops talking about it rather than arriving at decisions. A group has to be well trained in their role for this style to work.

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The disadvantages of a democratic environment might be that individuals may dominate the participation. This approach can be very time consuming for the leader because of the use of two-way Communication, compromise can result in actions that are not the most effective and conflict may be resolved by making the least offensive decision not the most effective. In case of uneducated or unskilled workers, it is not very effective. Evasive employees, who prefer not to be involved, may create problems and Due to lack of communication-skill, some important suggestions may get unheard.

In the Authoritarian environment the boss gives orders and expects instant obedience without argument. Plans and policies are made in isolation from the group. Orders are given without explanation for the reasons or future intentions. The autocratic leader does not become part of the team at all, but merely directs it. One person can make fast decisions and get quick aggressive action, There is centralised control from one person, It is very successful for small groups with relatively simple tasks.

One advantage is that there is consistency and efficiency in how projects are handled. Secondly, in autocratic management there is less confusion among the staff. It also increases the responsibility of one's role in an organization. Employees follow a set of rules and patterns therefore, there is less uncertainty. The less uncertain environment increases the speed of decision making.

If autocratic management provides a greater control on the decision making then it also lowers the accountability of the individuals because communication, decision-making, and projects are in hands of few people. This also demotivates the middle level and lower level employees. Employee empowerment is low in autocratic management and it lowers  reativity and innovation in the environment.

The consultative leader is part way between the autocratic and democratic style. Opinions of the group are sought by the consultative leader who uses this information to make decisions. The group are kept informed about the future and are allowed to debate and propose changes to long term policy.

 With larger groups and more complex tasks, however, the leader has to delegate sub-tasks to sub-leaders in the group. This involves explanation and communication so that the whole group understands the final objective and the part they play in achieving it. This requires a more consultative style to ensure everyone is motivated. Additionally, research shows that the act of consultation satisfies the Team and Individual needs and improves morale.

Bibliography

•  Bennis, W. G. (1989). On becoming a leader. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

•  Brilhart, J. K., and Galanes, G. J. (1989). Effective Group Decisions. 

•  Dubuque, IA: William C Brown Publishers. p. 201-203.

•  Kotter, J. P. (1990). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, May-

June, p. 103-11.

•  Nelson, D.L. & Quick, J.C. (2010) Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real

World and You. South-Western College Publication, 7th. Ed.

•  Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

Complementary reading: The End of Management

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