Management and Leadership

Managing and leading are two different, although related, functions in an organization. A manager is someone who takes care of the day to day responsibilities of an organization. These tasks include activities such as reporting, giving direction to employees, and day to day planning. A leader on the other hand, creates and changes things, defines strategy and is responsible for outcomes. A leader is not necessarily a manager; many times a leader is someone on a team with specialized knowledge or high motivation to complete the task.

Defining the characteristics of a leader is difficult. Most people know a leader when they see (or hear) one, but can not truly define what characteristics a good leader possesses. Many definitions exist but Bateman and Snell (2007) provide a good definition, "a leader is one who influences others to attain goals. The greater the number of followers, the greater the influence" (p. 394).

Traditionally, leaders were thought to have certain traits or characteristics. Many studies have been done trying to define what traits a good leaders possesses. These studies concluded that great leaders can be made through training and motivation.

Other studies have attempted to define not what a leader is, but rather what they do. Two types of leaders emerged from these studies; performance based leaders and maintenance based leaders. Performance based leaders focus on the job at hand and how to get it done. Maintenance leaders are more concerned with keeping the group happy.

Modern theories attempt to understand leadership in new ways. Charismatic leaders are especially important in uncertain times. Charismatic leaders are "dominant, self-confident, convinced of the moral righteousness of his or her beliefs, and able to arouse a sense of excitement and adventure in followers" (Bateman & Snell, 2007, 410).

Transformational leaders on the other hand "transformational leadership is the ability to get people to want to change, to improve, and to be led" (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki, & Kepner, n.d., p. 1). Transformational leaders understand the followers' motives and strive to mentor and develop them. A transformational leaders is "a leader who motivates people to transcend their personal interests for the good of the group" (Bateman & Snell, 2007, 411).

An important item to note is the obvious need for leaders to have followers. In fact, Smith (1997) defines leadership through followership. "We should recognize a greater reciprocity between these two roles (leader and follower) and acknowledge that modern concepts of leadership are not fully understood without appreciating followers and followership" (p. 1).

The actions of a leader are directly reflected in their followers. If a leader does not have any vision, managers will not be able to plan and effectively manage workers under their control. Managers need to maximize value from scarce resources while leaders try to get more value out of existing or new resources. Both managers (stabilizers) and leaders (visionaries) are necessary for any organization to succeed.

Leaders, having followers and not subordinates, have a responsibility to motivate followers. Managers on the other hand, can use coercive power to achieve a goal. Leading is also a two way street, followers must truly believe the goal or vision is worth their time and effort. According to Berlew (1974), "followers want a chance to:

• Be tested, to make it on one's own
• Take part in a social experiment
• Do something well
• Change the way things are" (p. 23).

A leader needs to care truly about their followers. The leader can not simply influence solely for personal gain. Leaders should put the needs of the followers first. "Followers grant leaders power to direct and leaders grant followers power to act in ways in which they did not fully realize they had the capacity" (Smith, 1997, p. 4).

At ARSDigita, junior level programmers were given assignments to improve their skills. Skill-building included not only programming, but project management, client relations, and project design. This created a culture of learning and success. If a project was getting off-track, a senior level programmer guided the junior programmer back on track (J. Griffin, personal recollection).

Not all projects at ARSDigita went favorably. Many times this had nothing to do with the project lead, but from over-selling or changing client expectations. Clients were rapidly changing strategy as mergers and venture capitalists were investing in companies and changing the strategic direction. The team, usually four programmers, was never blamed and was actively encouraged to find solutions and take risks with both ideas and programming.

Organizational cultures must allow followers to learn from mistakes. As can be seen from the ARSDigita example above, having a team which feels engaged leads to better solutions through brainstorming and a feeling of "owning" the task or project. Allowing followers to learn from their mistakes also trains followers to become leaders and creates an added benefit by actively engaging them in all aspects of the process.

Leaders must allow a certain freedom for risk-taking. Of course, limits must be in place, especially where public safety is involved. One way of implementing this freedom is through situational leadership. Bateman and Snell (2007) define the situational approach to leadership, "effective leader behaviors vary from situation to situation" (p. 404).

This form of leadership is especially effective in high danger environments. A head nurse in a hospital normally lets people participate, but in urgent situations, such as a code blue, the nurse becomes autocratic (Bateman & Snell, 2007, p. 404).

Management and leadership are two distinct functions. Managers are not necessarily leaders and leaders can come from any part of an organization. In fact, managing and leading are often at odds with each other. Leaders motivate subordinates in different ways than managers.

Many ways to build leadership and encourage a healthy organizational culture exist. Fraterman (2003) defines other traits which are helpful in building a healthy organizational structure including:

• Being open and humble at all levels of the organization.
• Create an environment of responsibility and accountability.
• Do not allow mediocrity, commit to excellence.
• Encourage group collaboration where appropriate.
• Be persistent in both good and bad situations.

Bateman, R. S., & Snell, S. A. (2007). Management: Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.

Berlew, D. (1974). Leadership and organizational excitement. California Management Review, 17(2), 23.

Fraterman, E. (2003). Eight traits of a healthy organizational culture: Fostering a sharp customer focus. Retrieved September 19, 2007, from http://www.customerfocusconsult.com/articles/articles_template.asp?ID=36

Hall, J., Johnson, S., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (n.d.). Transformational leadership: The transformation of managers and associates. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HR020

Smith, R. M. (1997, November 1997). Defining leadership through followership: Concepts for approaching leadership development. Retrieved September 18, 2007, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/15/3a/54.pdf