Britten Leadership vs.

Management The terms leadership and management, although often used interchangeably within an organization, are two very different concepts. There are a few substantial differences out of which others are derived, working as a whole vs. working divided, the impact that each has on

the organization, and the overall intentions of each of the two practices. Neither practice is more important than the other, but when used alone neither will be successful in attaining the goals of the organization. A successful organization uses a mixture of the two. One of the major differences of leadership and management is that leaders inspire employees to follow them to the accomplishment of the goals of the organization, and managers control and manage subordinates to complete tasks and in turn accomplish that same goal. Leadership is the practice of leading employees to the accomplishment of company goals as one entity like a well-oiled machine, while management is the practice of breaking the desired result down into a number of small tasks and managing employees in the completion of all of the assigned tasks. In both instances the goal is achieved but the subordinate employees who were managed to the completion of their tasks are more likely to develop animosity towards their boss. Another difference between the two is the nature of the impact that they have on the organization. A leader is concerned with establishing and attaining the long term goals of the company, while the manager is concerned with accomplishing the short term goals and day to day tasks. Thirdly, are the intentions of the leader versus that of the manager. The leader is concerned with the progression and evolution of the company which brings meaning and a sense of job accomplishment to the employees. The managers intentions are merely to complete the

Britten tasks at hand with great efficiency. This approach of the manager does nothing to inspire or motivate his subordinates. As a military member I have been exposed to many great leaders as well of many truly efficient managers. What I have noticed through my experience is that the most successful of both of these personalities used a healthy mixture of the two practices based on their level in the hierarchy of the command. As for hierarchy, managers are typically your low level supervisors while leaders are the upper echelon of the command. As a supervisor/manager the concern is more with completing the day to day requirements of the department. The manager will delegate duties out to their subordinates in order to ensure that the job is complete in the most efficient manner. In this circumstance a majority of the management traits are necessary. A good manager will incorporate leadership

skills by involving their subordinates/followers into the decision making process when assigning tasks. Also they would share and emphasize the goal that they will be working towards. Leaders attempt to envision the future of the organization. They define the goals of the organization to employees while empowering them to make decisions and take the necessary actions to accomplish these goals. Yet to be successful in this approach a guiding hand is still necessary and that is the residual management characteristics that are present in the profound leader.