In recent decades management and leadership have been perceived to mean the same thing and a distinct classification between the two has not been made. Many people believe that a manager is often the best leader within the organization and therefore a good manager displays good leadership skills. Throughout this essay I will attempt to explore the differences between management and leadership and see if they can co-exist together or if they are merely the same thing.
According to the late Peter Drucker, a key figure in the development of management education in his book "The Leader of the Future" a leader is defined as someone who has followers. In my opinion a good leader is someone who sets an example for others to follow and displays qualities of; teamwork, effective communication, is inspirational and decisive enabling them to get the best out of people.
Management can be defined in the business dictionary as the organization and coordination of the activities of a business in order to achieve defined objectives. According to Henri Fayol, developer of the general theory of business administration “Management is the art of forecasting and planning, to organize, to command, to co-ordinate and to control."
In a business environment strong leadership is essential to ensure operations run smoothly. In the modern workplace leaders are needed not only to inspire but to challenge decisions and encourage others to perform. The quote by Eisenhower (Leadership is the art of getting others to do something you want done because they want to do it.”) identifies a clear difference between leadership and management. Management requires authority, discipline and control to be able to get others to do what you want even if they do not wish to do so. Whereas a leader
References: "The Drucker Foundation (1996): The Leader of the Future. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, Richard Beckhard Henri Fayol, Irwin Gray (1987): General and industrial Management. David S. Lake Publishers D.Needle (2010): Business in Context 5th Edition. Cengage Learning Abraham Zaleznik (1977): Managers and Leaders: Are They Different? Harvard Business Review Warren Bennis (1989): On Becoming a Leader. Perseus Publishing John P Kotter: What Leaders Really do http://leadership.w9z.org/leadership-according-to-eisenhower/ http://www.deccanherald.com/content/81147/go https://new.edu/resources/managing-the-international-business-with-the-p-o-l-c-framework