Leadership and Management Essay: University of [University Name]

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Leadership and Management
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Table of Contents
1. What is involved in being a successful leader?......................................................................3
2. Can good leadership be developed, and if so, how?..............................................................5
3. What distinguishes leadership from management?................................................................7
4. What have you personally learnt about leadership from your own experiences, on this
course and elsewhere?................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11
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1. What is involved in being a successful leader?
Leadership is defined as the “procedure of influencing a group of different kind of individuals
for accomplishment of the common targets and goals” (Henman, 2011).
According to Lunenburg (2011), many of the philosophers have stated leadership is inherent
and inborn trait, which cannot be acquired through learning or through education. However,
many of the modern philosophers believe that leadership can be acquired through learning
and education. These variations between the different kind of beliefs regarding the concept of
leadership is caused due heterogeneity within the perceptions regarding leadership.
Moreover, there are certain qualities as well as traits required for being a successful leader.
There are different kind of theories and models, which have highlighted the different kind of
qualities and abilities that are required within an individual for being a successful leader.
Some of these leadership theories are mentioned in the succeeding description.
Stogdill’s Trait theory- As per this trait theory of leadership, the qualities and traits of
successful leaders are mainly based on their inherited qualities and traits (Avolio and
Yammarino, 2013). Along with this, there are some suitable and appropriate skills and
qualities, which when blended properly results are successful leadership traits and qualities.
Some of these skills and traits are high energy to work, dominant nature, creativity, fluency in
communication, ambitious, cooperative, etc. Henman (2011) has stated that this theory can be
referred by the individuals for acquiring some of the traits of successful leaders.
Great man theory- As opined by Yang et al. (2011), this theory rather has similar kind of
belief as the previous trait theory regarding the leadership. This theory also states that the
leadership qualities and traits are already present within the nature of the individual and thus
cannot be easily acquired or gained through learning or practices. The philosophies of this
theory are still found to be true until certain extent as leadership majorly depends over the
nature and upbringing of the leaders (Wang et al. 2011). This theory was known as great man
theory because of its male and masculine oriented perceptions. Due to this factor, the theory
has been a matter of critics from many of the philosophers.
Situational theory- This theory is kind of contradicting against the theories mentioned above.
This theory states that leadership qualities are enhanced through experiencing different
circumstances and situations. According to Thompson and Glasø (2015), a leader should take
different kind of sustainable and appropriate decision for different situations or
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circumstances. This helps in inculcating different qualities within the individuals such as
effective and suitable decision-making. This in turn helps the individual in ascertaining the
successful leadership qualities (Avolio and Yammarino, 2013). For better explanation of this
theory, example of authoritarian leadership, where the leader makes independent decisions
and democratic leadership, where leaders make decision along with by their subordinates, can
be referred effectively.
Servant leadership- This theory of leadership perceives the leaders as the servants of the
society and communities. Leaders are obliged with the responsibility of serving their
followers and other responsible entities with the best possible guidance and directions for
accomplishment of the targeted goals and objectives efficiently. As per this theory, a servant
leader is required to majorly focus over the development and growth of their belonging
groups and communities. Van Dierendonck (2011) has suggested that there are many theories
and models, where the leaders are situated at the top of the chain ,whereas in servant
leadership, the leaders gives priority to sharing of his or her powers with other and prioritises
the requirements and development of others. According to McCleskey (2014), this theory of
leadership is helpful for the individuals for building good relations with the employees and
other people of the organisations, which is a key to acquisition of successful leadership
qualities.
Big five personality – In order to be a good and successful leader, it is essential to develop
such kind of personality, which is suitable for a successful leader. As opined by García-
Morales et al. (2012), the essential leadership personality elements can be acknowledged
through big five-personality theory. This theory comprise of five kinds of personality
component including openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion and at the last
neuroticism (Komarraju et al. 2011). Through working on all these five type of personality,
the god leadership qualities and traits can be developed effectively (Antonakis and House,
2014). In this way, the big five-personality theory can be used or referred for becoming a
successful leader.
Transformational leadership- This kind of leadership is practiced by many successful leaders
within the global organisations and companies. Allio (2012) has stated that through
transformational leadership, changes are brought and acquired within the employee as well as
the organisation according to the external changes occurring in the surrounding of the
organisation. The changes are also brought as per the working environment of the
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organisations or any other kind of changes required in the employees or the organisation.
Because of transformational leadership, upgradations are brought in the working environment
of the organisation (Sadeghi and Pihie, 2012). This provides a substantial base for
development and improvement within the employees and the organisations.
Transactional leadership – As opined by Wang et al. (2011), this style of leadership is used
by the leaders for motivating the employees for performing well and delivers better
performance in the organisation. This is done through rewarding the employees for their extra
ordinary contributions and performances within the organisational tasks and projects.
Rewarding helps in generating intrinsic motivation within the employees, whereas incentives
help in generating extrinsic motivation in the employees (Avolio and Yammarino, 2013).
Thus, transactional leadership proves to be beneficial for developing the performance
delivery of the employees in the organisation.
2. Can good leadership be developed, and if so, how?
Ronald (2014) has stated that it is still a very much argued topic that whether the leadership
qualities or skills can be developed or not. However, it is a modern belief that the qualities of
good leadership can be developed through proper practicing and learnings. In order to gain
and develop good leadership qualities, different kind of leadership styles and approaches can
be observed and acquired. Then, applying these acquired leadership qualities will help in
determining the effectiveness of the leadership traits and personality within different
circumstances. The development of the good leadership is majorly dependent over the
educational and working surrounding of the individual. According to Malik et al. (2014),
good surrounding fosters the development of good leadership qualities within the individual.
Apart from these factors, there are several other kinds of qualities of a good leader, which are
required to be developed within an individual. These skills can be acknowledge through
different kind of leadership theories, which are mentioned in the below section.
Katz’s three skills model- This mode or theory given by Katz focuses over the different kind
of skills, which are required by leaders to become a good and successful leader. The skills,
which are primarily focused within the boundary of that model, are conceptual skills, human
skills as well as technical skills. Day et al. (2014) has stated that conceptual skills are
essential for gaining effective visualization capabilities. The human skills are essential for
development of effective bonding and relations development of relations with the business or
organisation. It is also substantial for facilitation of the development of good communication
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and interpersonal skills. Then, technical skills are also essential for developing good
leadership, as it is crucial for a good leader to be aware of the usage and application of
technical tools and programs.
Leadership styles- According to Müller et al. (2011), there are different kind of leadership
styles, which can be acquired for developing good leadership personality. These styles of
leadership are encompassed within the Lewin’s Leaderships styles. The leadership styles
discussed within this theory are autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style and
Laissez-faire leadership style. The autocratic leadership style is about making or taking
decisions individual, without taking advices and opinions from any of the other employees of
the organisation. This style of leadership is helpful in making emergency decisions within the
organisation (Wang et al. 2011). Then, the democratic style is opposite to Autocratic
leadership style, as in democratic leadership, the decisions are made through consulting and
taking advices from other employees. In laissez faire style of leadership, the individual
employees are free to take their own decisions and complete the allocated tasks by the
leaders.
These leadership styles are very much linked with another kind of leadership theories, which
is contingency theory.
Contingency theories - In this theory, the leader is required to use different techniques and
refer to different and most appropriate leadership style as per the situations and circumstances
faced within the organisation. The following example can be referred or better explanation
and acknowledgment of this point. A leader use autocratic leadership styles while making or
finalising any kind of project or task for the employees or the organisations (Yang et al.
2011). Whereas, while making strategies and plans regarding the projects, the leader uses
democratic leadership style for making better strategies and plans. In this way, different
leadership styles are brought into use by a good leader in different kind of situation and
circumstances. Therefore, these qualities are essential for developing good leadership.
Path goal theory – Path goal theory of leadership is another kind of leadership that can be
brought into use for developing good leadership qualities. According to Tsai (2011), this
theory states that the behaviour or the style of the leader should be coordinated with the needs
and expectations of the employees present within that specific surrounding. Adhering to this
path goal theory helps the leaders in providing better and appropriate guidance and
instructions to the employees within the organisation (Malik et al. 2014). This in turn helps
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the employees within the organisation in working appropriately and performing their
allocated tasks with optimum accuracy and efficiency.
Along with these theories and models, a good leadership is also developed through personal
thinking and behaviour. Therefore, Hallinger (2011) has stated that behavioural theories can
also be brought into use for developing effective leaderships skills. A good leader is required
to make good use of his power and facilitate the development of the followers and other
individuals under him. For this propose, power theory of leadership can be brought in use by
the leaders. Only then, an individual would be able to developed good leadership qualities
and become a successful leader.
3. What distinguishes leadership from management?
Management is defined as the process of achieving the organizational goals by working with
the individuals of the company and other organizational resources. Management involves and
concentrates on achieving and reaching the desired goals. According to Lunenburg (2011),
good management is the backbone of any organization and helps the organization to run all
type of business activities. Managing an organization means to effectively perform the tasks
with the employees and achieve the desired objectives. Management incorporates a total
balance between the 5M, as they are men, money, material, methods and machine.
Management also refers to the method used by man to deal and manage people and achieve
the desired objective and goals. Planning, organizing, influencing and controlling are the four
basic functions of management (Northouse, 2018). These four processes make up the process
of management. Planning in an organization involves the process to choose tasks that must be
performed first to attain the organizational goals, organizing in management involves the
assigning the tasks chose in planning stage. Influencing in an organization is used to motivate
the employees and increase productivity. The process of controlling involves manager to play
various roles such as gathering of information, comparison between the performances of
employees and determining the next action plan.
Leadership as defined by Bârgău (2015) is the art of motivating a cluster of people to achieve
a common and shared goal. This can also be interpreted as providing a direction to the
workers and colleagues along with a proper strategy to meet the current and future needs of
an organization. A leader is the basis for any type of leadership. A leader inspires and
motivates the action of worker. Effective leadership in nay organization is based on ideas and
a leader is responsible to communicate those ideas to engage peoples and make them act as a
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leader wants. Another definition of leadership includes providing a direction and inspires
them to achieve a shared goal. It is a quality possessed by the leaders to influence people and
achieve the objectives with great enthusiasm. Leaders are the people who have good vision of
thinking and play their cards across the boundaries.
Differences between management and leadership
Difference on the basis of meaning
Leadership in an organisation is related to the guidance provided by the leaders to
achieve a shared goal to the employees.
For example, Leader in any organization does not perform the tasks, on the
contrary, guides the employees how to perform the task.
Management, on the other hand is related to the coordination of various activities
and resources.
For example, A manager provides his/her employees with all the basic
amenities and resources needed to complete the task (Storey, 2016).
Difference on conceptual base
Management in an organisation is based on control.
For example, Managers need to control the departmental activities ongoing in a
department and decide their functioning.
Leadership, on the other hand is based on trust and honesty towards the leader.
For example, A bond of trust and honesty towards the leader can be found within
the union.
Differences on the basis of primary objectives
The primary and only objective of management is to appropriately manage the
activities.
For example, It is the liability of the managers to direct the desired activities and
tasks within the deadline.
The primary objective of leadership is to encourage the individuals and inspire
them.
For example, The basic responsibility of leaders is to encourage the individuals and
provide them proper guidance to achieve the desired goals.
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Difference on the basis on nature
The nature of management is rich in authority. In an organisation, various positions
and power needs to decide based on performance.
For example, Managers make use of their power to distribute other positions in an
organisation.
The nature of leadership in an organisation influences and tries to bring
changes in the surrounding (Sharma and Jain, 2013).
For example, In big organisations, leaders influence the employees and create their
own personality as a role model towards the organisation.
Difference on the basis of perspective
The perspective of manager and management is short-termed.
For example, Managers need to focus on current position, goals and give outcomes
based on that. Short-term achievement of goals ensures security towards their job.
Leaders have a vision of longer term and have foresightedness.
For example, Leaders need to have faith in their followers and focus towards the
achievement of future goals.
4. What have you personally learnt about leadership from your own experiences on this
course and elsewhere?
It is a huge responsibility for an individual to play the role of a leader. It becomes a major
aspect of a leader to ensure the proper functioning of the individuals and their development.
As a project leader, I got the chance to gain an experience as a leader. I had to face many
challenging situations and went through them. These situations helped me to relate them with
real-life issues and build my personality. These situations helped to build my profile as an
efficient leader and develop the qualities and skills required for an effective leader. Along
with this, my team members also supported me when I needed them. It was upon me to
reduce the communication gap and my team members supported me with this situation. I
have to use various different leadership styles to get the best results.
The members of my group were equally talented and each one of them was highly skilled in
particular field. This helped me to allot them the tasks. Along with this, the team members
needed to learn the other skills. This was achieved by the group through an effective
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communication. In this learning programme, the leadership style I used the most was
democratic leadership. This style of leadership helped me to gain the view and opinions of
each member and choose the best one. Democratic leadership style also helped me to
formulate an effective strategy and make right decisions. The consultation with the team
members created an enthusiastic environment. I was also able to fulfil my responsibilities and
meet the requirements of my team members. The communication gap was also decreased and
team members felt confidence under my leadership (Henman, 2011). The freedom provided
to the members also helped them to come up with new and innovative ideas and enhanced my
personality as a leader.
Transactional and transformational leadership style made my work easier. These styles of
leadership, along with democratic style helped me to change the procedures to carry out a
project and accomplish those using creative techniques. The innovative ideas helped the team
to generate better outcomes. I guided the team, under transformational leadership to bring
some innovative ideas to accomplish a particular task with minimal effort and chose the best.
My team was committed towards their work and this helped me to gain best outcome from
them. This made the employees to feel comfortable, confident and friendly to perform the
tasks assigned to them (Hallinger, 2011). I was able to continuously guide the members and
use my knowledge and skills to deal with the situations.
Along with transformational and democratic leadership style, transactional style also helped
me to increase the confidence of team members. Team members also co-operated with the
routine and I could effectively manage their performance. It was my duty to reward the
efficient employees and praise their hard-working performance. Some of the members
remained introvert but they did perform their tasks very well, so it was my responsibility to
extract the best out of them and praise their work. I made a report on the performance of
employees, which helped me to reward them. Transactional leadership style along with
rewarding the members also taught me how to regain the confidence and trust of employees.
Transactional leadership style also helped the members to increase their participation level
and effectively accomplish the tasks.
This project helped to increase my leadership style and know the areas in which I need to
work. This experience helped me to develop my skills required to motivate and influence the
team members. The various style of leadership also helped me to make better decisions and
guided me in this journey. I gained the experience of a leader, which will definitely guide me
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through the real-life lessons. The respect for leaders was increased in me after performing
this task. The difficult situations through which a leader passes cannot be determined (Allio,
2012). In the beginning, it was difficult for me to implement different styles in different
situations but later I went to learn from my own experience and support of team members.
This task also helped me to clear my doubts regarding leadership and management, their
definitions, major differences and their implementation.
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References
Allio, R.J., 2012. Leaders and leadership–many theories, but what advice is reliable?.
Strategy & Leadership, 41(1), pp.4-14.
Antonakis, J. and House, R.J., 2014. Instrumental leadership: Measurement and extension of
transformational–transactional leadership theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(4), pp.746-
771.
Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Transformational and charismatic leadership:
The road ahead. Emerald Group Publishing.
Bârgău, M.A., 2015. Leadership versus management. Romanian Economic and Business
Review, 10(2), p.112135.
Day, D.V., Fleenor, J.W., Atwater, L.E., Sturm, R.E. and McKee, R.A., 2014. Advances in
leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The
leadership quarterly, 25(1), pp.63-82.
García-Morales, V.J., Jiménez-Barrionuevo, M.M. and Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, L., 2012.
Transformational leadership influence on organizational performance through organizational
learning and innovation. Journal of business research, 65(7), pp.1040-1050.
Hallinger, P., 2011. Leadership for learning: Lessons from 40 years of empirical research.
Journal of educational administration, 49(2), pp.125-142.
Henman, L.D., 2011. Leadership: Theories and controversies. Retrieved from http:
llhenmanper fonnancegroupcom.
Komarraju, M., Karau, S.J., Schmeck, R.R. and Avdic, A., 2011. The Big Five personality
traits, learning styles, and academic achievement. Personality and individual differences,
51(4), pp.472-477.
Lunenburg, F.C., 2011. Leadership versus management: A key distinction—at least in theory.
International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 14(1), pp.1-4.
Malik, S.H., Aziz, S. and Hassan, H., 2014. Leadership behavior and acceptance of leaders by
subordinates: Application of path goal theory in telecom sector. International Journal of
Trade, Economics and Finance, 5(2), p.170.
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