Difference between management and leadership:
“Leadership is not about the leader, it is about he or she builds the confidence of everyone else.”(Kanter, 2004)
The two terms managers and leaders to some may not seem as two different concepts, in fact there is a distinction between them. In definition, a leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice. (See, 2009) Leadership involves guiding staff towards the aims and objectives of the organisation. This includes motivating and encouraging work members and enabling their followers to function properly. Leaders adopt a more personal and active attitude towards potential goals.
Whereas a manager is someone who controls and resources. A manager must be obeyed at all times. The main aim of a manager is to maximise the output of the organisation through directorial implementation organisation. Managers involves co-ordinating the activities and assigning roles of members of staff. They are more concerned with planning and controlling to achieve the results they desire. They tend to adopt an impersonal attitude towards goals with a low emotional level. (Mullins, 2007)
Blake and Mouton ‘Managerial grid’
A well-known structure for thinking about a leader's 'task versus person' orientation was developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in the early 1960s. It is called the Managerial Grid, and it plots the degree of task-centeredness versus person-centeredness and identifies five combinations as distinct leadership styles.
The Managerial Grid is built on two behavioural dimensions:
Concern for People - This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members and their interests.
Concern for Production - This is the degree to which a leader highlights existing objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task.
Using the axis to plot leadership 'concerns for production' versus 'concerns for people', Blake and Mouton defined the following five distinctive leadership styles:
Impoverished Leadership - Low Production/ Low concern for PeopleThis type of leader is mostly unsuccessful as he/she has neither a high concern for productivity and for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is pleasing and motivating. This results in de-motivated staff and a disorganised workplace. Objectives are not completed.
Country Club Leadership - High concern for People/Low ProductionThis style of leadership is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members within the business. These people operate under the theory that as long as team members are happy and satisfied then they will work hard and continue to be motivated. However production suffers due to lack of direction and management.
Middle-of-the-Road Leadership- Medium Production/Medium concern for PeopleThis style is a balance of meeting the requirements of a steady production as well as keeping a concern for the employees within the firm. Their production level is average and so is the concern for people making either side partial. The problem with this type of management is that the production needs and the people needs are not fully met and settle for a standard performance.
Produce or Perish Leadership - High Production/Low concern for PeopleAlso known as Authoritarian Leaders, managers in this category believe strict rules and procedures should be applied to employees for the need of efficient production. Punishment is considered the most successful way to motivate staff. High production is achieved at the end but causes dissatisfaction of employees.
Team Leadership - High Production/High concern for PeopleAccording to the Blake Mouton model, this is the ideal managerial style as both production needs and people needs are taken upon. The principle here is that employees are involved in understanding the needs for organisational production. When employees are devoted to their work, and have a trust in the organisation's success, their needs and production needs match. This creates a high-quality team environment, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production. (Mindtools, 2009)
During my work experience someone that I have worked for is the body shop. I feel that the store manager’s leadership style is Autocratic and suits the produce or perish leadership on Blake and Mouton's grid. I believe this because the manager mainly took power of every decision that was made and these decisions were influenced on whether it would generate worthy results for the production of the company. The manager has strict rules towards dressing appropriately with the Body shop uniform that was provided and made sure we were wearing the body shop member card hanging around our neck to promote this to the customers we were dealing with.
A Strong Leader in my Eyes...
In my opinion Barak Obama who is the current president of United States is a very powerful leader for numerous reasons. Being the first African American to be elected as president in January 2009 was quite an achievement in itself. Obama is described as someone who is convincing. His influential messages of hope and possibility grew from listening to what Americans want and have inspired the public into believing he can bring change. He has given America an exciting and optimistic vision of the future. Obama is aware of his image and of how he portrays himself, showing his values, his self-regard and his expressive self-awareness which is reflected in his speeches. Good leaders are usually good communicators. Like Lincoln and Churchill, Obama has been successful by his good communication skills and the way he delivers his highly dominant speeches which reaches out to the people of his country. Good leaders need to have the right individuals around them. Obama has been thought to have respect and reliability for those who work for him which makes him a likable person. Everything he has promised to do have been done which shows he is genuine in his words and actions and makes the public believe he is by their side. Another quality of a good leader is you have to be able to adapt quickly and stay flexible. Obama showed a respectable ability to act fast in response to the financial crisis and recession that struck suddenly and considered ways to overcome this. He maintains amazing composure when in a crisis keeps a cool mind and remains in control when under pressure. As I have explained, he has many qualities that support he is a strong leader
In Conclusion...
Overall, one of the things I have learnt is the difference between management and leadership. At first I thought they had the same meaning but even though they sound similar, they include different traits of controlling a team. The managerial grid explains the theory behind the different combinations of leadership styles and that there are different types of leaders. Finally I got an insight on who are strong leaders and why they are believed to be. I have gained knowledge about Barak Obama and the qualities he has that make him an excellent leader.
References:
Roseabeth Moss Kanter, Leadership and the psychology of turnarounds, Random house (2004), p.235-236.
See (2009). Difference between management and leadership. [Online]. Available from: http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/MENG/ME96/Documents/Intro/leader.html
Mullins, L. (2007), Management and organisational behaviour, The nature of leadership, eighth edition, Chapter 10, page 365)
Mindtools (2009). Blake Mouton Managerial Grid. [online]. Available from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm
“Leadership is not about the leader, it is about he or she builds the confidence of everyone else.”(Kanter, 2004)
The two terms managers and leaders to some may not seem as two different concepts, in fact there is a distinction between them. In definition, a leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice. (See, 2009) Leadership involves guiding staff towards the aims and objectives of the organisation. This includes motivating and encouraging work members and enabling their followers to function properly. Leaders adopt a more personal and active attitude towards potential goals.
Whereas a manager is someone who controls and resources. A manager must be obeyed at all times. The main aim of a manager is to maximise the output of the organisation through directorial implementation organisation. Managers involves co-ordinating the activities and assigning roles of members of staff. They are more concerned with planning and controlling to achieve the results they desire. They tend to adopt an impersonal attitude towards goals with a low emotional level. (Mullins, 2007)
Blake and Mouton ‘Managerial grid’
A well-known structure for thinking about a leader's 'task versus person' orientation was developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in the early 1960s. It is called the Managerial Grid, and it plots the degree of task-centeredness versus person-centeredness and identifies five combinations as distinct leadership styles.
The Managerial Grid is built on two behavioural dimensions:
Concern for People - This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members and their interests.
Concern for Production - This is the degree to which a leader highlights existing objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task.
Using the axis to plot leadership 'concerns for production' versus 'concerns for people', Blake and Mouton defined the following five distinctive leadership styles:
Impoverished Leadership - Low Production/ Low concern for PeopleThis type of leader is mostly unsuccessful as he/she has neither a high concern for productivity and for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is pleasing and motivating. This results in de-motivated staff and a disorganised workplace. Objectives are not completed.
Country Club Leadership - High concern for People/Low ProductionThis style of leadership is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members within the business. These people operate under the theory that as long as team members are happy and satisfied then they will work hard and continue to be motivated. However production suffers due to lack of direction and management.
Middle-of-the-Road Leadership- Medium Production/Medium concern for PeopleThis style is a balance of meeting the requirements of a steady production as well as keeping a concern for the employees within the firm. Their production level is average and so is the concern for people making either side partial. The problem with this type of management is that the production needs and the people needs are not fully met and settle for a standard performance.
Produce or Perish Leadership - High Production/Low concern for PeopleAlso known as Authoritarian Leaders, managers in this category believe strict rules and procedures should be applied to employees for the need of efficient production. Punishment is considered the most successful way to motivate staff. High production is achieved at the end but causes dissatisfaction of employees.
Team Leadership - High Production/High concern for PeopleAccording to the Blake Mouton model, this is the ideal managerial style as both production needs and people needs are taken upon. The principle here is that employees are involved in understanding the needs for organisational production. When employees are devoted to their work, and have a trust in the organisation's success, their needs and production needs match. This creates a high-quality team environment, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production. (Mindtools, 2009)
During my work experience someone that I have worked for is the body shop. I feel that the store manager’s leadership style is Autocratic and suits the produce or perish leadership on Blake and Mouton's grid. I believe this because the manager mainly took power of every decision that was made and these decisions were influenced on whether it would generate worthy results for the production of the company. The manager has strict rules towards dressing appropriately with the Body shop uniform that was provided and made sure we were wearing the body shop member card hanging around our neck to promote this to the customers we were dealing with.
A Strong Leader in my Eyes...
In my opinion Barak Obama who is the current president of United States is a very powerful leader for numerous reasons. Being the first African American to be elected as president in January 2009 was quite an achievement in itself. Obama is described as someone who is convincing. His influential messages of hope and possibility grew from listening to what Americans want and have inspired the public into believing he can bring change. He has given America an exciting and optimistic vision of the future. Obama is aware of his image and of how he portrays himself, showing his values, his self-regard and his expressive self-awareness which is reflected in his speeches. Good leaders are usually good communicators. Like Lincoln and Churchill, Obama has been successful by his good communication skills and the way he delivers his highly dominant speeches which reaches out to the people of his country. Good leaders need to have the right individuals around them. Obama has been thought to have respect and reliability for those who work for him which makes him a likable person. Everything he has promised to do have been done which shows he is genuine in his words and actions and makes the public believe he is by their side. Another quality of a good leader is you have to be able to adapt quickly and stay flexible. Obama showed a respectable ability to act fast in response to the financial crisis and recession that struck suddenly and considered ways to overcome this. He maintains amazing composure when in a crisis keeps a cool mind and remains in control when under pressure. As I have explained, he has many qualities that support he is a strong leader
In Conclusion...
Overall, one of the things I have learnt is the difference between management and leadership. At first I thought they had the same meaning but even though they sound similar, they include different traits of controlling a team. The managerial grid explains the theory behind the different combinations of leadership styles and that there are different types of leaders. Finally I got an insight on who are strong leaders and why they are believed to be. I have gained knowledge about Barak Obama and the qualities he has that make him an excellent leader.
References:
Roseabeth Moss Kanter, Leadership and the psychology of turnarounds, Random house (2004), p.235-236.
See (2009). Difference between management and leadership. [Online]. Available from: http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/MENG/ME96/Documents/Intro/leader.html
Mullins, L. (2007), Management and organisational behaviour, The nature of leadership, eighth edition, Chapter 10, page 365)
Mindtools (2009). Blake Mouton Managerial Grid. [online]. Available from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm
Well done, a very thorough blog
ReplyDeleteDeveloped by by R. R. Blake and J. S. Mouton, the Managerial Grid Model helps Managers to analyze their own leadership styles through a technique known as grid training. Also Managers can identify how they with respect to their concern for production and people with Managerial Grid Model.
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