Leadership and Management Report: Theories, Practices, and Reflection

This report delves into the essential concepts of leadership and management, exploring various leadership theories such as trait theory, contingency theory, LMX theory, path-goal theory, classical theory, and administrative theory. It evaluates these theories, examining their strengths and weaknesses and their applicability in different organizational contexts. The report also discusses the requirements for successful leadership, highlighting the characteristics of effective leaders, including truthfulness, righteousness, and self-belief. Furthermore, it examines the development of sound leadership within organizations, referencing the leadership competency framework and differentiating between leadership and management. Finally, the report includes a reflection on personal experiences, offering insights into how leadership principles have been learned and applied. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and a list of relevant references.

Leadership and Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................3
Basic Concepts of Leadership and Management....................................................................................4
Evaluating different theories of leadership and management............................................................4
The requirements of being a successful leader............................................................................................6
Characteristics of an effective leader...................................................................................................7
Development of sound leadership in an organisation.............................................................................8
Leadership Competency Framework.......................................................................................................9
Leadership vs. Management...................................................................................................................10
Describing how I have learnt leadership from my own experiences....................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................11
Reference List..........................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
Leadership is a necessary phenomenon in every organisation. In fact, there is no such
organisation that exists without a leader. Leadership focuses on the skyline, not just the basic
facts (Aibieyi, 2009). In this report, the basic concepts of leadership and management are
discussed, the process of being a successful leader and the development of sound leadership in
organisations are explained and finally, a reflection on my own experiences that taught me about
leadership is provided.
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Basic Concepts of Leadership and Management
Leadership: The concept of leadership has been described by various authors, a few of them are
mentioned below. Leadership can be defined as innovative and inimical, leadership also means
ingeniousness, ability to adjust and liveliness (Day et al., 2013). Leadership enables a person to
motivate others to follow his/her guideline or submit to his/her decisions by their will (Ibrahim et
al., 2019). Leadership is described as the power to convince others to attain certain goals
promptly (Kelly et al., 2010). Leadership is a motivating system focused on the achievement of
objectives (Seters, 2012). Leadership is the system which affects the functions of an organisation
to goal attainment (Higgs et al., 2016). The main responsibility of leadership includes the skill of
making difference in numerous aspects of an organisation.
Management: According to F.W. Taylor, Management is the art of having a clear idea of what
is needed to do and then making sure that it is performed in the most efficient and less costly
way. Management is the systematic way of creating and managing a positive working
environment where both the team and individual employees function jointly to acquire objectives
(Harold et al., 2010). Management is described as the system of preparing, arranging, governing,
and ruling a company's activities in order to increase the productivity and profitability of the
organization (Stankey & George, 2011). Management is the process of acting together with and
by other employees to efficiently attain company goals by utilizing given resources (Kreitner &
Cassidy, 2012). The management process consists of designing a strategy, arranging, directing
and administering, executed to measure and achieve the goal through the utilization of human
and other resources (Bryson & George, 2020). In this definition, designing strategy means
advanced thinking about what will be done in the future. Arranging means the perfect
combination of materialistic and human resources. Directing means influencing and providing
guidelines to fellow employees. Administering means making sure of the execution of the
strategy without moving away from it. The managers and board members of an organisation may
design a healthy and positive working environment that enables strategic growth for a long time,
organisation goals, and development as per Drucker's theory of human management. Thus, a
clear idea of management is projected here.
Evaluating different theories of leadership and management
Trait Theory: Trait theories can be defined as another section of the Great Man theory. These
theories state that certain traits of a certain person provide them with a better possibility of being
a leader. These natural traits or behavioural qualities are intrinsic to the dynasty and will remain
in the future. This theory denotes that, leaders have many traits and characteristics which are
present in every leader’s behaviour that deliver them success. Trait theories of leadership
distinguish followers from leaders by emphasising personal natures and specialities (Derue et al.,
2011).
Contingency Theory: Due to the unsuccessful attempts made by researchers to gain continuous
results from trait theories, they started to focus on circumstantial effects. The objective was to
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combine leadership manner with the working environment in order to acquire efficiency of
leadership (Vidal et al., 2017). It mainly rests upon whether an individual's leadership process is
accurate for the situation. This theory also suggests that a figurehead may achieve great things in
one circumstance but fail miserably in a different circumstance (Heller & Frank, 2019). The
typical differences between better and worse followership are eliminated by this point of view.
Besides, it gives attention to choosing the most favourable followership characteristics for the
circumstance.
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory: The LMX theory also known as the Vertical Dyad
Linkage theory is unlikely to other followership theories. The theory defines how leaders manage
their duties to the organisation and how relations are made with other participants of a team that
can provide in both the development or failure of the organisation (Erdogan & Bauer, 2014). The
theory suggests that followership is made up of various both-way relations that combine the
figurehead with other members. The effectiveness of the relation is determined by the level of
belief, honour and contentment about work. Besides, the LMX theory says that there is an ability
to create a relationship with other members in every leader, and the effect of these relations is
visible in the decision-making and performance of the members (Kang & Stewart, 2012). The
Leader-Member Exchange process consists of several stages. They are briefly explained below:
Team building- Due to the situation, figureheads create a specific relation with a certain team of
subordinates: the in-group. These team members get special attention from the leader and have
the most probability of getting exclusive advantages.
Team selection- When the recruitment process is vague, leaders prefer to select the in-group
employees because of their behaviour and basic natures that are as same as the leaders and have
upper-level abilities than the out-group subordinates.
Managing LMX- Leaders invoke LMX by presenting those subordinates with whom they intend
to build a close relationship with awards. On the other hand, the ordinary employees who are not
from the selected group don't get enough facilities.
Path-Goal Theory: The theory suggests that a leader's activities have an influence on the
satisfaction, enthusiasm, and performance of the subordinates. This estimation is built upon the
expectancy theory, which claims that when anyone expects positive results, their behaviour is
followed in a particular manner. As per the path-goal analysis, a figurehead would praise his/her
followers and provide for the lacking that they may have. This theory says that perfect leaders
pave the way for their followers to achieve objectives while eliminating hurdles and possible
disasters (Baran & Jonason, 2020). Thus, this theory provides guidelines for managers to
accomplish objectives and influence employees to attain company goals.
Classical Theory: As per the classical theory, every difficult concept has a classical explanation
that is a study specialising the spiritual necessity and equal sufficiency of circumstances for that
notion to survive in the environment. Many leaders repeatedly use different management theories
which match their enterprise culture and group members (Mahmood et al., 2012). In spite of the
existence of different management theories for a long time, these are very handy for utilising
organisational resources and leading the followers to success.
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Administrative Theory: Fayol designed measures for showing managers how to arrange and
communicate with fellow group members because he assumed that the responsibilities of leaders
may be mentioned as, predicting, thinking of strategies, arranging, leading and directing. He
emphasised that the shown path should have adaptability and be applied wherever the leader
thinks it appropriate to lead effectively (Turner et al., 2020). He provided some suggestions to
help managers in maintaining the different functions of organisations. They are:
Initiative- This term deals with the standard of authority that workers need to perform their
duties consistently. The concept demonstrates that every worker of an organisation should have
equal rights and the implication of these rights should be monitored (Wren et al., 2010). As per
the supply chain theory, a communication system for employees from the highest executive
officers to the least position should exist in an organisation and that liaison should generally
function from the highest to the lowest.
Employee Remuneration- As the theory stands, both financial and non-financial payment should
be provided on the basis of achievement levels to strengthen the relationship between an
employee and an organisation. To accomplish a goal, one leader should be responsible for
designing team activities, as per the theory of the unity of direction (Sahni et al., 2011).
Division of Labour- This management theory states that productivity and efficacy will increase if
jobs are divided on the basis of employees' abilities and concerns. They would be more
enthusiastic about their duties.
The requirements of being a successful leader
In different kinds of organisations, despite the leaders performing their activities, and monitoring
the overall actions and responsibilities of the organisation, they must be effective in leading
employees also. So, it is very crucial for leaders to be conscious of the nature of effective
followership (Modekurti & Madhuri, 2010). Numerous research has been conducted on the
requirements of being an efficient leader. Leadership begins by designing the agenda, a clear
idea of how the organisation will perform various functions in the future. There must be an idea
or image portrayed by effective followership which is true and candid. In simpler words, when
the rule-makers are performing their jobs and duties, they need to be outspoken, frank and
impartial in their attitudes. The primary requirement of effective leadership is the capability of
having faith in oneself (Sozzi, 2018). It demonstrates expertise, adequacy and vision that convert
into resolve and guidance. A clear understanding of the environmental circumstances is the
centre of attention of efficient leaders. They need to make sure of the environmental
circumstances' accuracy in order to implement necessary functions. The leader owns certain
expertise and capabilities that favours conversions to command efficient development. They
generate the perspective that among other resources humans are the most significant which
would be very efficient in the progress of the organisation. It is essential to point out the attitudes
and natures of the figureheads in order to understand efficient followership characteristics. Here
are some examples of successful leaders who have changed the business world (Lunk, 2021),
Henry Ford, the innovator of the Model T which not only did not just produce engines but also
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made typical activities more effective. This production method made the price of materials less
costly which brought huge differences in American vehicle enterprises. Steve Jobs, the man
responsible for the unthinkable success of Apple Inc. He didn't literally invent the venture but
renovated it in a far more effective manner.
Characteristics of an effective leader
There are several characteristics that an effective leader must have in order to accomplish desired
objectives. Some of them are briefly explained below,
Truthfulness and Righteousness: Truthfulness is a necessary quality that every leader must
have. Because without being truthful to the followers, it is impossible to gain support from
subordinates or any other people. Righteousness is another trait which is also very important for
being a successful leader. Efficient leaders should have the ability to make judgements and take
necessary decisions. Truthfulness and righteousness are considered inevitable qualities of
efficient followership. In the application of the job responsibilities of the figureheads, they
delineate truthfulness and righteousness (Hasan, 2019). In delineating truthfulness and
righteousness, there are some factors that needed to be evaluated such as protecting one's
promises, protecting one's sacrifices and identifying one's jobs and responsibilities considering
both internal and external factors.
Faith in oneself: It refers to the belief, that a person can trust him/her. It is the ascertainment that
the leader has to meet the hurdles and hazards. The figureheads must provide surety that they
own important knowledge in the field of job responsibilities (Leithwood, 2019). When the
figureheads and the subordinates are conscious of the tools that will amplify credibility levels,
they will be successful in providing efficient effort in their activities to attain company goals. It
is a fluent characteristic that varies according to circumstances. It is a skill that can be developed
over the flow of time. Practising it on a daily basis is one of the most significant ways of
enhancing the quality of self-belief.
Attributes and Capabilities: It is an undeniable fact that no leader can perform his/her duties
effectively and gain appraisal from the other employees of the company. The various kinds of
attributes that are required for being an effective leader are the ability to communicate well,
perfect allocation of time, being capable of solving complexities, the ability to utilise
technologies ability to analyse and job ethics (Cote, 2017). The mentioned attributes are very
necessary to be implied in the organisational activities. The improvement of these attributes and
capabilities has been certified to be profitable to the figureheads as well as the corporation. The
implication of these attributes in the right way would be very beneficial and handy for the
company. The administration of organisations should establish training and progression
programs.
Responsibility: The policy-makers are responsible for their job activities and duties. In order to
initiate a responsible culture in the workplace, the leaders have to be responsible so the influence
passes on to other members. When leaders acknowledge responsibilities, they realise and fathom
the outcomes of their acts in the fields in which they have to function (Bell et al., 2012). When
the figureheads fathom the importance of being responsible, they will be capable of making
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difference and fulfilling their job responsibilities fluently. Producing the desired results is the
main goal of leaders. To perform these activities efficiently, they should realise the importance
of responsibility.
Ingenuity and Discovery: With the changing economy and effects of globalisation, there is a
necessity of introducing ingenuity and discovery in the actualisation of actions and activities. In
every kind of organisation, ingenuity is recognised and people are utilising various methods such
as updated, logical, and initiative styles in completing their duties (Schafer, 2010). The
actualisation of the traits of ingenuity and discovery needs the other members of the corporation
to carry out innovations in their activities. These traits have facilitated the functions and made
the activities less complex. Usually, the actualisation of these qualities is not so plain and easy,
the figureheads ought to utilise the resources in a diligent way.
Translucency: The nature of translucency in followership is related to explicitness and clarity
(Meyer & Kirby, 2010). There are many responsibilities and duties for a leader to perform and
those actions should be transparent and understandable and lucid to other members of the
organisation. The recognition of the specialities of translucency will make the leaders capable of
being candid and frank with their followers and subordinates.
Development of sound leadership in an organisation
The development of leadership includes a vast amount of acts recognised as necessary for
boosting the confidence of a company's human resources and scopes of development. In the
United States, the estimated amount of money spent by corporations yearly for developing
leadership is 40 billion dollars. The progression of leadership includes conventional events and
regulations conducted by a corporation to enhance the speciality of followership. These
enterprises can be categorised as development events aimed at fostering leadership attributes
(Cardno, 2010). When constructing a followership training event, it is necessary to start with
designing a leadership competency model of related information, attributes and capabilities
certain to the company. This kind of strategic attitude performs as a catalogue for the efficient
progression of followership, while also determining certain factors of an individual's personality
that matches the requirements of the organisation. The process of developing followership
should involve the creation, management, and conversion of a leader's personality during the
progression process (Högfeldt, 2022). A chief's personality defines how the person visualises
him/herself as a figurehead. A proper progression plan should combine the point of view of the
figurehead as a person. There is much research which is conducted in this field, states that the
development of leadership needs diligent work. Development of leadership may be conceived in
an effective leader activity model where the figureheads progress from newbies to maestros as a
consequence of intended practices (Cacioppe, 2012). As an example, leaders can exercise
discord management, group work, and abilities to communicate well by acknowledging and
mastering the programs, and assigned works as well as playing certain parts that provide the
scopes of acquiring knowledge, attributes and capabilities significant to become an efficient
leader. Other exercises that leaders must practise to be a sound leaders involve maintaining
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lucidity for followers and other leaders by straightening different roles and assumptions,
arranging the team activities promptly, contacting the in-group and out-group employees, and
influencing followers by constructing sound relations and directing swiftly (Elmore & Richard,
2013). Leadership channels enable firms to 1) determine highly motivated workers who are
assumed to have the capability of leading and 2) upgrade these human resources into efficient
leaders by instructing them properly. Organised instructions are created to enhance a future
leader's attributes and capabilities and they may be divided into four segments a) development of
personnel qualities, b) enculturation of enterprise goals, c) tactical attributes progression to
nourish the gigantic change, and d) mastering the enterprise activities aimed at accomplishing
company objectives. Personnel skill-growing functions are categorised by the assumption of a
chief's basic traits. Proper utilisation of categorised instructions, mastering through experience or
a mixture of both can be effective for the progression of leadership.
Leadership Competency Framework
The following model presents the necessary factors to evaluate the efficiency of the leaders. It
demonstrates the measures that the organisation needs to determine the competency of the
leaders.
Leadership and
control in
combining
functions
1. The good
maintenance of
the corporation
2. Transparency
of the future
plans
3. Nurturing the
potential of the
organisation.
The ability to
handle
relationships
and
communicate
1. Working
combinedly with
the team
members
2. The quality of
effectively
communicating
with
subordinates
3. Evaluating
teamwork to
produce
profitable
consequences.
Managing
human
resources and
the company's
operations
1. Utilising
human resources
in an effective
manner
2. Executing
organisational
functions and
operations
properly
3. Designing
strategies and
innovations.
The utilisation
of valuable
information
1. Information-
gathering
programs
2. Evaluating
necessary
information.
Individual
attributes and
abilities
1. The personality
of the individual
2. Individual
goals and
evaluation of the
individual
him/herself.
Table: Leadership Competency Model
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Leadership vs. Management
Leadership and Management conjugate, but they are not similar (Kotterman, 2006). The two of
them include motivation, coordinating with other people, and functioning to acquire shared
objectives (The Guardian, 2013). Whatsoever, the functions of leadership and management are
proven to have disparities (Kotterman, 2006). Leadership is an act of motivation with various
directions while management has no directional effects (Katz, 2014). The dissimilarities between
leaders and managers in one line: Leaders perform the proper functions but managers make the
functions right (Bennis and Nanus, 2010). When leaders encourage evolution, better ways and
acts to realise followers’ trust to attain their allegiance, managers inspire steadiness, practise
authority, and act to acquire desired objectives. Therefore, management and leadership require
separate types of human resources. Managers only care about tactics and processes while leaders
concentrate on influence, connection, and common objectives (Watson, 2016). Leadership is
dissimilar to management because leadership is not suspensive. It is not related to the possession
of charm or any tropical characteristics. Leadership is not necessarily more useful than
management or a substitute for management rather followership and management are two
discrete and commendatory functions. Both are essential for accomplishment in the changing
business world (Kotterman, 2006).On the opposite, management is a function which focuses on
authorising conventional activities (Bargau, 2015). In the end, every corporation needs leaders
and managers and their activities should be visualised as appreciable to each other.
Describing how I have learnt leadership from my own experiences
In this part of the report, the significance of the lesson about leadership traits from my
experiences is briefly explained. The experience I am going to demonstrate is gained from the
event of project evaluation. As I was the leader of our group I had to manage most of our
activities. I had to collect all the data and conduct research on the topic. Moreover, I was
responsible for the performance of all the group members as a team, so I had to instruct everyone
in the team and give them guidance on certain tasks. Finally, I on behalf of my team presented
the project we constructed, at the presentation event. From this event, I have acquired some
important learning about leadership. I have learnt how to manage fellow colleagues, how to act
all together as a team, how to influence people and how to make necessary decisions. So, this
experience was quite beneficial to me. Because various events teach us various kinds of lessons
(Grimard et al., 2018).
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Conclusion
Almost every organisation needs to build the capability of leadership. Organisations that are
massively successful, found out the leaders they require throughout the world (Popa, 2012).
There are big differences between management and leadership. This report discusses the basic
concepts and theories of leadership and management, the required qualities to be an effective
leader, the process of leadership development, how leadership is different from management and
lastly, the reflection on my experience from which I have learnt leadership.
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