John Kotter Good Leadership Management Essay
Lead only if u can manage. Though leadership means superiority and power, but management is the basic necessity and pillar of a business organisation. For a leader to function efficiently managerial skills and abilities are essential. The words ‘lead’ from leadership and ‘manage’ from management itself specifies its functions and characteristic activities. Leadership and management are definitely two distinctive and complementary systems of action as told by John Kotter in 1991. Both leadership and management are not natural, they are acquired abilities and talents that can developed and modified according to the situation. Both leaders and managers are significant in an organisation to lead the management towards its vision and to manage the employees to accomplish the mission of the organisation. To briefly elaborate the topic assigned, this report will proceed along the following spectrum: what is management? , management concepts, who is a manager?, manager’s attributes and qualities, role of a manager, management theories, what is leadership?, who is a leader?, what attributes/traits makes a leader successful?, theories of leadership and difference between leadership and management. All of these topics will be explained briefly below with suitable quotes and examples.
WHAT IS MANAGEMENT AND ITS CONCEPTS?
Management is an existing process which is mainly result oriented, this process involves proper utilization of resources such as human, financial and material resources which are available to the organizations and to individual managers for the purpose of goal attainment (Michael Armstrong, 1990, p. 1).
There are four basic management concepts namely,
Planning- What, How and When the tasks must be performed.
Organizing- Determining tasks, Groupings of work and Putting plans into actions
Influencing- Motivating, Leading, Directing organization members mainly to increase productivity.
Controlling- Gathering information, Making comparisons and Finding new ways of improving production through organizational modifications (Samuel and Trevis, 2012, p.27).
WHO IS A MANAGER?
A Manager is a person in an organization, who has a group of employees under his control and it is his responsibility to plan, organise, influence, monitor and control the work of his group or team in order to achieve the organizational goals. There are different types of managers based on their field of work. Such as financial, production, service, marketing, human resource managers. Different managers have different responsibilities and targets.
According to F. John Reh,(2011) a senior business executive says ‘a manager is a person who helps others and get more done by motivating them, providing directions, making sure they are working together toward a common goal, removing roadblocks and providing feedback’.
Peter F. Drucker,(2009) a successful American businessman says ‘The productivity of work is not the responsibility of the worker but of the manager’.
MANAGER’S ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES
Conceptual ability- A manager is in need of this ability which also involves decision making skills during some complex situations including environmental situations. A manager’s conceptual ability should be used in relation to the objectives and strategic planning of the organisation. (Laurie J. Mullins, 2005, p.212).
Social and human skills- It refers to interpersonal relationship between the manager and employees. The manager should effectively utilise the human resource of the organisation which involves team works and proper direction to his employees and more over the manager should also be versatile. (Laurie J. Mullins, 2005, p.212).
Technical competence- It is the manager’s ability of utilization of specific knowledge, methods and techniques to organise the tasks and is mostly required at supervisory level, staff trainings and in day-to-day operations. (Laurie J. Mullins, 2005, p.211).
ROLE OF A MANAGER
See Possibilities – Manager is the only people who knows the employees better than anyone else and try to bring the best out of them. (Scrid, 2012)
Know the Structure – Manger should be up-to-date with the organisation structure and objectives, so that he can evaluate his expectation from the employees. (Scrid, 2012)
Remember: Small Actions Count! – Little drops of water make the ocean, and little kindness act as bond between the manager and the employees and creates respect among each other. (Scrid, 2012)
Be Creative – In this complex and volatile business environment it is expected for the manager to be creative and be an inspirational tool for co-workers and other employees. (Scrid, 2012)
Commit – As the level of commitment is contagious, a manager should not only be committed to his objectives but should also show commitment toward his employees. (Scrid, 2012)
Be ‘Human’ – Authority should not create a gap between a manager and his employees. The manager can be himself, but if he tries to be someone his employees can look up to. The manger will gain respect, loyality and a good connection. (Scrid, 2012)
Stay Versatile – A manager should be flexible and versatile and be ready for sudden changes and others suggestions from his employees. (Scrid, 2012)
Have fun while you work – A manager should know how to be professional at work and having fun in the process. (Scrid, 2012)
Be a role model – The manager is considered as the leader for the employees working under him. The employees will mirror their manager’s work ethics. So the manager should be worthy of being a role model. (Scrid, 2012)
MANAGEMENT THEORIES:
Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management
Lillian Gilbreth’s motion study
Max Weber’s bureaucratic theory
Henri Fayol’s administrative theory
Elton Mayo’s hawthorne effect
Systems Approach
Chaos theory
Team Building theory
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
Ralph Stogdill (1950) points out that the definition of leadership has three components, they are: 1. Interpersonal relationship, 2. Social context and 3. Goal attainment. So leadership is the process of influencing one subordinate or an organised group in setting a goal and in attaining the targeted goal. (Buc and Huk, 2010, p.596)
Peter F. Drucker,(2009) a successful American businessman says ” Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
WHO IS A LEADER?
A leader is one who keeps people moving forward by motivating them and invest in them rather than getting something out of them.A leader is one who delegates the work to the right person who can do it better than the others.A leader not only identifies problems but also initiates a solution to the problem.
According to Douglas MacArthur, (1930) the son of the high-ranking military figure, Arthur MacArthur says ‘A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.’
WHAT ATTRIBUTES/TRAITS MAKES A LEADER SUCCESSFUL?
Emotional intelligence- It is the ability to identify, evaluate, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Daniel Goleman framed ’emotional intelligence’ and he identified six leadership styles which affect working atmosphere and financial performance. The aspect of emotional intelligence is the selection of these leadership styles to be successful. (Buc and Huk, 2010, p.614)
Interpersonal communication skill- It is the is the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages: it is face-to-face communication. Interpersonal communication is not just about what is actually said, it is also about the language used and but how it is said and the non-verbal messages sent through tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and body language.(Skillsyouneed, 2012)
Modification skills- a leader must be versatile and flexible in order to handle the situations and make some modification in his behaviour, objectives and plans in order to initiate a solution for the problems being faced by the organisation.
Creativity- as the decision making process lies in the hands of the leader. It is expected from him to be creative and come up with some innovative decisions for the welfare and profitability of the organisation. Creativity make the leader a role model.
Motivation- it is the process of keep people or employees moving forward by fulfilling their needs and ideas and focusing them toward the attainment of the organisational goal with energy and persistence (Buc and Huk, 2010, p.225)
LEADERSHIP STYLES
Leadership styles mainly deals with the different functions of leadership and the style of leadership towards members of the group or subordinate staffs. They are classified into three styles, namely:
Authoritarian (or autocratic) style- it is where the power is with the leader and all the interaction with the group and employees move towards the manager. The leader alone exercises decision making, authority for determining policies, procedures for achieving goals, work tasks and relationships, control of rewards and punishments.
Democratic style- it is where the power is mostly with the group and there is a good interaction with in the group. The leadership functions are shared with the group and the manager is also a part of the group. The group members can give their suggestion in decision making, determination of policy and in implementation of systems and procedures
Laissez-faire (genuine) style – it is were the members of the group and their workings are observed and the power is passed to the members to allow them the freedom of action and no to interfere, but be available if help needed. The members are left to face decisions. There is often confusion over this style of leadership behaviour
THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP:
Great Men Theory
The Trait Theories of Leadership
Style Theory
Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y
Contingency Theory
Behavioural Theories
Participative Theories
Relationship Theories