Leadership and Management: Key Characteristics and Skills

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of leadership and management principles. It begins by identifying the essential qualities and characteristics of a successful leader, including achievement drive, leadership motivation, self-confidence, compassion, cognitive ability, honesty, and integrity. The essay explores different leadership styles, such as authoritarian, participative, and delegative, as well as the traits theory and the Big Five personality factors. It then addresses the question of whether good leadership can be developed, outlining various approaches like system-based, contingency, situational, and traits-based frameworks. Finally, the essay differentiates between leadership and management, highlighting their distinct definitions, bases, creator roles, duties, and strategies. The content aims to provide a clear understanding of leadership concepts and their practical application in organizational settings.

Leadership
And
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1) What are the essential qualities or characteristics involved in being successful leader? .1
2) Can good leadership be developed if yes state how?.........................................................4
3) What is difference between leadership from management?..............................................5
4. what have you learnt about leadership from your experiences, on this course or elsewhere?7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Leadership can be stated as a provision in which people are influenced accordingly to
attain set standard of objectives and directs the organization to make it more cohesive and
coherent. Effective leaders assist the business associates to perform better in the cut throat
competitive world. Administration with effective leadership increases their workforce efficiency
so that desired goals can be achieved on time. However, successful leader is someone who
listens as well as communicates effectively to the audience. In order to become a successful
leader, one has to go through series of obstacles and challenges. However, to be a successful
leader some of the core characteristics are leadership motivation, compassion, Achievement
drive cognitive ability, honesty, self confidence and integrity. This report covers what are the
necessary qualities or characteristics which are needed for a successful leader (Amanchukwu,
and Ololube, 2015). Moreover, throw-light on can good and effective leadership be developed
and if yes states how. However, differences between leadership and management is discussed so
that concept can be more clear. As well as highlight own idea about leadership learned so far.
1) What are the essential qualities or characteristics involved in being successful leader?
In an organization successful leader is someone who actively listens , give priority as
well as communicates effectively to the people. In the cut throat competitive world to become a
successful leader one has to go through series of obstacles and challenges in the market in order
to nourish their skills and competences. However, some of the core characteristics which are
needed to be a successful leader are Achievement drive, leadership motivation, self confidence,
compassion, cognitive ability, honesty and integrity. Some of the theories are explained as
follows:
Lewin's leadership styles
According to Kurt Lewin there are three crucial behaviour style that successful leader
used while leading others. In the market there are leadership style that act as blueprint to the
leaders which are explained as follows:
Authoritarian: In this case the style point that leaders use the power of their position to
make decision and does not delegate authority to subordinates (Bolden, 2016). Those who adopt
this style are considered as dictator who exert their decisions on others. Therefore, it is not
considered appropriate in organizational context as it leads to high turnover .
Strengths:
1

 This theory brings quick results as compared to other forms of leadership.
 As there is no room for discussion there is no conflicts in the workforce.
Weakness:
 Lack of creative thinking.
 In the organisation Causes high turnover.
Participative: This style involves democratic way of leading and influencing people.
Under this, leaders besides expressing the company's objectives to members, suggestions are
also encouraged from them. Though, decision making lies in the hands of leaders only. It is
considered effective as creative solutions of problems can be identified and morale of workforce
is improved.
Strengths:
 Brings positive and creative results.
 Formulate wider participation.
Weakness:
 Discussion with each member can lead to delay in decision making.
 There are some employees who may not be comfortable with this style.
Delegative: This style is also known as Laissez-Faire style. Under this, leader delegates
complete responsibility to all the members of group which involves setting goals, making
strategies and taking decision (Bush and Middlewood, 2019).
Strengths:
 It ensures high employee engagement Increase in expertise in workforce.
Weakness:
 Members can take excessive advantage of situation.
 Inappropriate decisions are taken due to members lack of knowledge and experience.
Most of the successful leaders adopt participative leadership as it ensures right amount of
balance between authority and responsibility. It allows employees to be initiatives and also give
assurance that they can rely on the leader to make right decisions.
Traits theory: All the leaders in the world have few things in common. These things are
linked to traits possessed by the individual. It is well known fact that great leaders have
distinctive set of traits. The extent to which these qualities are present differs from person to
2

person. Scholar like Stogill's attempted to study leadership. After 20th century, trait approach was
used which explains that how certain traits influence leadership. Stoggill also insist that
possession of these quality is not enough but relevancy with the situation also matters.
The big five personality factors:
Leader needs to have good communication skills. An efficient leader needs high levels of
interpersonal, cognitive, business and strategic skills. The connection between the leader
knowledge, skills and his performance are also essential in resolving organizational leadership
problems, in inspiring and directing subordinates to key implementation (Diamond and Spillane,
2016).
Neuroticism: This trait is concerned with tendency to be depressed, insecure or hostile in
a difficult situation. To become successful leader, it is essential that a leader should have
emotional stability in order to effectively face obstacles that comes on the path of success. As per
this trait, people who constantly deal with anxiety and stress can not make rational decision.
Thus, it can be said that the person scoring low on neuroticism would have to face difficulty
while becoming a leader
Openness: Successful leaders are informed about the surrounding. They wish to be
aware about everything which may or may not be important. This tendency makes them stand
out from other leaders. Being open to the unusual ideas, unknown emotion, art shows that
concerned individual is more accepting and appreciative in nature (Herman, 2016). Experiencing
unknown territories helps in enhancing personality of individual. For example, Chris Anderson is
well known CEO gathers insights from all the sources and is open to the innovation that
generates from participation.
Conscientiousness: This trait is associated with attitude of self discipline, and giving
attention to every detail. Successful leaders like Mark Zuckerberg stand by their values and were
stubborn about beliefs and due to this qualities they are able to save the company from falling
out even after when allegations of invading user privacy were put by the government. It is
required to build these abilities as most people are not born with it. In the context of business
great leaders should plan and schedule the work systematically and be up to date about the work.
This would help in facing unknown business situation effectively (Donate and de Pablo, 2015).
3

Agreeableness: This trait reflects about how great leaders are willing to cooperate and
make peace with others. People who does not get along and puts self interest above lacks the
potential to become successful. For example while leading a team if team leader does not
consider the opinions, suggestions and problems of members face non cooperation and conflicts
which can result into loosing positions or efficiency in work. However agreeing to everything is
also not considered good as this may cause poor decision making
Extraversion: This one is associated with having ability to be more sociable and
interactive with others. People who can make good conversations in the party have more
likeability than those who does not find this aspect important. Such people become great leaders
though it is not compulsion like Zuckerberg who was introvert are some of the exceptions. The
reason as to why this trait is important is because it helps in influencing others. People who look
up to you will follow you is very basic statement which is applicable in this regard.
2) Can good leadership be developed if yes state how?
Can good and effective leadership can be developed or not the answer to this question is
yes. Moreover, it is not practically possible to develop leadership in a day, it requires significant
amount of effort and time on individual's part.
Distinguished ways to develop leadership in an individual:
In order to develop leadership there are various theories can helps individual and
accordingly support to gain effective leadership skill. Here are some of the theories such as
System, contingency and situation based framework which are explained as follows:
System based approach: In this case, leaders in the administration can develop
effective working culture and conditions in which all the worker can contribute collectively to
generate positive results in the cut throat competitive world. Whereas, good leadership involves
in investigating potential leadership skills and make use of it in their daily life. By building
systems and procedures in systematic order it directly assists in influencing people as well as the
enterprise in right direction. In order to develop leadership people should follow predetermined
goals with appropriate rules and regulations so that best results can be seen quickly.
Contingency theory: To become a successful leader this is considered one of the best
way to manage work in the administration. However this is based on two factors such as task
oriented and relationship oriented. Good leaders by obtaining these qualities one can develop
good leadership skills within (Gopee and Galloway, 2017) . To succeed in the leadership skill
4

individual have to keep aside s personal importance and give due importance to the feeling and
emotions of others therefore this theory correctly states that leadership can be developed by
accomplishing work and creating interpersonal relationship. In today's era people who focuses on
completing work by meeting all the standard guidelines becomes role model for others in the
market. By creating healthy relationship with co-workers or people around creates an positive
impression about person which influence others to freely express their concerns regarding any
matter.
Situational theory: According to this theory effective leadership requires leaders to
modify the style with changing dynamics environment in the market place. Being rigidity and
inflexible in nature creates hurdles for a person to take risks. It is therefore essential that one
should cope up with changing variations with time frame. For example: In the competitive
world leader suddenly experience high rate of turnovers or inefficient performance in the market
and accordingly modify styles such as , communicating more with the workers and delegating
power and authority as per the requirements. By doing so effective and efficient outcomes can
be received from individuals.
Traits theory: All the leaders in the world have few things in common. These things are linked
to traits possessed by the individual. It is well known fact that great leaders have distinctive set
of traits. The extent to which these qualities are present differs from person to person. Scholar
like Stogill's attempted to study leadership. After 20th century, trait approach was used which
explains that how certain traits influence leadership. Stoggill also insist that possession of these
quality is not enough but relevancy with the situation also matters (Hallinger and Chen, 2015).
3) What is difference between leadership from management?
Leadership: Good leaders should not only focus on the demand and preferences of
workforce but also on the issues which they are going through or facing in their daily working
place.
Management:
Basis Leadership Management
Definition Leadership is the provision by
which people are influenced to
Management is the act of
systematically organizing and
5

follow them. coordinating things in a proper
manner.
Basis Lear-ship is based on trust. Management is based on
control (Renz, 2016).
Creator Leaders formulate a vision for
the organization.
Whereas, goals are designed
by managers for the company.
Duty Leaders duty is to ask
questions regarding roles and
responsibilities assigned to
workers.
Management obligation is to
direct the employees for their
work.
Strategies Leadership adopts proactive
type of strategies so that
productivity level can be
raised at a rapid scale.
Reactive strategies is adopted
by management in order to
meet the set objectives in an
business administration.
Types of style followed Motivational style is followed
by leadership so that skilled
and potential staff members
can be retained for longer time
duration.
Management most adopts
authoritarian style so that
business function can be
carried out effectively in the
market place.
Motive Leaders main motive is to take
risk so that best outcomes can
be achieved.
In this case mangers main
motive is to control the level of
risk occurring in the business.
So that business productivity
does not hamper in the
premises.
Focus Leadership focuses on
encouraging dynamic changes
in the business working
environment (Hallinger and
Bringing stability is the main
focus of management so that
skilled and competed workers
can be retained for longer time
6

Wang, 2015). duration.
Exercise power Leadership develop power
with people so that they can be
assured that employees are
valuable assets of the
company.
Power is exercised over staff
members so that workforce
efficiency can be upgraded in
the market place.
4. what have you learnt about leadership from your experiences, on this course or elsewhere?
While undertaking this module I experience and learned various aspects of leadership in
the market. This course helped me in gaining knowledge from all the aspects of the corner. In
order to develop the concept of leadership within I need to adopt certain technique that can
provide help me to influence people in the market. However, there are memorable and some
personal experiences which is faced during the project . All this directly or indirectly helped me
to know more about leadership and it's importance in the daily life. Staff members while working
for the business success often come across various difficulties such as while performing tasks
assigned to them or difficulty in adjusting to changing dynamic business situations. Good
Leaders are in position to influence the actions of employees in appropriate direction. Their
positive and vibrant nature attract others to share problems and conflicts without any hesitation
so that best performance can be carried out .leaders possess characteristics like openness and
agreeableness etc. which can be understood from the stated big five trait theory. Which allows
employees to discuss important issues freely (Herman, 2016).
For example: Where I work in an enterprise top level management decided to cut slack
paperwork and installed new software which will be used by the workers in order to carry out
the daily working criteria. The new change of technology in the management existing staff
members were highly demanding resistance whereas, many old employees came across various
difficulties as they were not used to it. Du to which productivity decreased in the market . In
this particular situation leaders act as a bridge in order to the solved problem of employees and
effectively explained the benefits of the software.
In an organization as leaders also faced technical skills faced in order to assure
employees various sessions were created to make unsure employees about application of
7

software. Rightly so employee's productivity was improved and overall efficiency was achieved
in the operations. This experience helped me that in order to convince people leaders should have
complete knowledge about the external and internal environment. Along with this I also learned
that how a good leader turn unfavourable circumstances into favourable situation and everyone
agrees to it. This module helped me to analyse the attributes of leaders and their impact on the
decision making. From the explanation of leadership perspective is gained about how to develop
leadership at workplaces and outside of it (Larson and Gray, 2017).
In the early days I believed that great leaders are born but later on studying about the
skill and contingency theory it changed my view. And now I put more efforts and emphasis on
learning good leadership skills so that they can be improved. As coin has head and tale same this
theories have some positive and negative aspects. This theory do not define what actions should
be taken to develop these skills (McCaffery, 2018).
8

CONCLUSION
From the above it can be summarized that in order to become a effective or good leader
in the organization certain qualities or characteristics is must such as active listener, effective
communication skills etc. In the market place distinguished theories are used to become a
successful leader. Some skills are inherent from birth while some of the skills need to be
developed within so that workers follow the guidelines commanded. There are various theories
prevailing in the market through which good leaders can be developed such as contingency
theory, system based approach, situational theory etc. Also difference between leadership and
management is studied in order to make the concept more clear.
9

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Amanchukwu, R. N., Stanley, G. J. and Ololube, N. P., 2015. A review of leadership theories,
principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management. 5(1).
pp.6-14.
Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management and organisational development. In Gower handbook
of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158). Routledge.
Bush, T. and Glover, D., 2016. School leadership and management in South Africa: Findings
from a systematic literature review. International journal of educational management.
30(2). pp.211-231.
Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. eds., 2019. Principles of Educational Leadership &
Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
Diamond, J. B. and Spillane, J. P., 2016. School leadership and management from a distributed
perspective: A 2016 retrospective and prospective. Management in Education. 30(4).
pp.147-154.
Donate, M. J. and de Pablo, J. D. S., 2015. The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in
knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research. 68(2).
pp.360-370.
Gopee, N. and Galloway, J., 2017. Leadership and management in healthcare. Sage.
Hallinger, P. and Chen, J., 2015. Review of research on educational leadership and management
in Asia: A comparative analysis of research topics and methods, 1995–
2012. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 43(1). pp.5-27.
Hallinger, P. and Wang, W .C., 2015. Assessing instructional leadership with the principal
instructional management rating scale. Dordrecht: Springer.
Herman, R. D., 2016. Executive leadership. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership
and management, p.167.
Larson, E. W. and Gray, C. F., 2017. Project management: The managerial process. McGraw-
Hill Education.
McCaffery, P., 2018. The higher education manager's handbook: effective leadership and
management in universities and colleges. Routledge.
Renz, D. O., 2016. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John
Wiley & Sons.
Swanwick, T. and McKimm, J., 2017. ABC of clinical leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Thorpe, R., 2016. Gower handbook of leadership and management development. CRC Press.
10