LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
Introduction
1. “All men are sheep. They need a shepherd”. A hunger for creative and compelling leadership has been one of the most universal cravings of our times. Recent history is replete with leaders who strode across cultural, intellectual and political horizons. Their followers loved and loathed them, marched for them, fought for them, killed and died for them.
2. Leadership is the most important aspect of the human behavior. It gives a positive direction to the use of human resources and brings out the best in a man. It is a natural phenomenon of a man’s work life. It is related to the principle of gradation and hierarchy which is the universal order of things created by God and man. One of the ancient definitions says, “Any person who is more than ordinarily efficient in carrying successful psychological stimuli to others and is thus effective in conditioning collective response may be called a leader. Leadership is an act of persuading people to co-operate in the achievement of a common objective.” The objective might not have been ‘common’ in the first instance. It is the responsibility of the Leader to make it look so. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery said, “Leadership is the will and capacity to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” The main emphasis is on the leader’s capacity and will, his behavior, in rallying people to the common purpose. The purpose might not have been common to start with, but it devolves upon the leader to ensure that it is perceived as common by the group members.
3. Leadership can therefore be defined as the ability of a person to mobilize and direct the efforts of his group members for solving the group problem by relating himself to the characteristics of the group and sensitising himself to the nature of the problem.
Since situations keep changing, therefore, the leader too must keep acquiring new knowledge, new skills and more appropriate attitude for mobilising and directing the efforts of his group members for the achievement of the group goal. The personal and dynamic qualities that a leader must possess are:
(a) Courage
(b) Social Orientation
(c) Mental Ability
(d) Motivation
(e) Maturity
(f) Energy
2
Management V/s Leadership
4. Management is defined by the following standards:
Planning and Budgeting. Establishing detailed steps and timetables and then allocating necessary resources.
Organising and Staffing. Establishing some structure for accomplishing the plan, staffing the structure, delegating responsibility and authority, providing and penning policies and procedures and creating methods to monitor implementation.
Controlling and Problem solving. Monitoring results against plans, identifying deviations and then implementing solutions to problems.
5. Leadership standards are defined as:
(a) Establishing Direction. Developing a vision for the future and developing strategies for producing changes to achieve the vision.
(b) Aligning People. Communicating the direction to those ...
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
Introduction
1. “All men are sheep. They need a shepherd”. A hunger for creative and compelling leadership has been one of the most universal cravings of our times. Recent history is replete with leaders who strode across cultural, intellectual and political horizons. Their followers loved and loathed them, marched for them, fought for them, killed and died for them.
2. Leadership is the most important aspect of the human behavior. It gives a positive direction to the use of human resources and brings out the best in a man. It is a natural phenomenon of a man’s work life. It is related to the principle of gradation and hierarchy which is the universal order of things created by God and man. One of the ancient definitions says, “Any person who is more than ordinarily efficient in carrying successful psychological stimuli to others and is thus effective in conditioning collective response may be called a leader. Leadership is an act of persuading people to co-operate in the achievement of a common objective.” The objective might not have been ‘common’ in the first instance. It is the responsibility of the Leader to make it look so. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery said, “Leadership is the will and capacity to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” The main emphasis is on the leader’s capacity and will, his behavior, in rallying people to the common purpose. The purpose might not have been common to start with, but it devolves upon the leader to ensure that it is perceived as common by the group members.
3. Leadership can therefore be defined as the ability of a person to mobilize and direct the efforts of his group members for solving the group problem by relating himself to the characteristics of the group and sensitising himself to the nature of the problem.
Since situations keep changing, therefore, the leader too must keep acquiring new knowledge, new skills and more appropriate attitude for mobilising and directing the efforts of his group members for the achievement of the group goal. The personal and dynamic qualities that a leader must possess are:
(a) Courage
(b) Social Orientation
(c) Mental Ability
(d) Motivation
(e) Maturity
(f) Energy
2
Management V/s Leadership
4. Management is defined by the following standards:
Planning and Budgeting. Establishing detailed steps and timetables and then allocating necessary resources.
Organising and Staffing. Establishing some structure for accomplishing the plan, staffing the structure, delegating responsibility and authority, providing and penning policies and procedures and creating methods to monitor implementation.
Controlling and Problem solving. Monitoring results against plans, identifying deviations and then implementing solutions to problems.
5. Leadership standards are defined as:
(a) Establishing Direction. Developing a vision for the future and developing strategies for producing changes to achieve the vision.
(b) Aligning People. Communicating the direction to those ...