LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Leadership and Management have been used contrarily by different people. However it is being perceived that leadership and management are two very distinct functions. Although, leadership and management doo share many similarities which is involve of working with people and influencing others to achieve the goals set by.  According to John Kotter in his book Leading Change, there is an important difference between leadership and management which is apprehended in these definitions “Leadership is a set of processes that creates organizations in the first place or adapts them to significantly changing circumstances. Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles” and “Management is a set of processes that can keep complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem solving.” Leadership and management entail a unique set of activities or functions. Peter Drucker defined a leader is someone who has followers and some theorists believe that leadership is a form of the social influence processes (House and Aditya, 1997). Although there are a variety of leadership definitions, the majority of definitions focused on two components which are the process of influencing a group of individuals to obtain a common goal and to develop a vision.

Katz defined the management as exercising direction of a group or organization through executive, administrative and supervisory positions. According to Katz that management responsibilities are usually tasked-oriented and it involves developing staff, mentoring persons with high potential and resolving conflicts while maintain ethics and discipline. Manager aims to reach short term goals, avoid risks and establish standardization to improve efficiency (Kotterman, 2006). Hence, according to Kotterman, leadership and management overlap but they are not the same. Bernard Bass in his book “Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership” states that “Leaders manage and managers lead, but the two activities are not synonymous. Management functions can potentially provide leadership. Leadership activities can contribute to managing. Nevertheless, some managers do no lead and some leaders do not manage. In summary, leadership and management share similar roles, hence it is important to make a distinction between those two function. The principal mission of both leaders and manages is to control and influence other people. The most important difference between leaders and managers is their approach to achieve the goals.

THEORY/TERMS/CONCEPTS AND EXPLANATIONS                       

A.  COLLABORATION

Collaboration involves an offer to help the target person carry out a request for anyone, and it can help to reduce the difficulty or cost of carrying out a request. Collaborative Leadership is an increasingly vital source of competitive advantage in today’s highly networked, team-based and partnership-oriented business environments. Hence collaborative leadership mean the process of engaging collective intelligence to deliver results across organisational boundaries when ordinary mechanisms of control are absent.

          i.     Difference between Traditional Leadership (TL) and Collaborative Leadership (CL)

Power

TL: Power is in one singular authority; and

CL: Power is greatest in collective team. Collaborative Leaders allows solution to develop from the best ideas of the group and take a team approach in problem solving.

Information

TL: Maintain ownership of information as their hallmark and access to information is power; and

CL: Open information sharing is the cornerstone of success.

Idea Generation

TL: Occasionally entertain suggestions or are open to ideas from their team members; and

CL: The art of collaboration gives everyone on the team a voice. Leaders are generally open to suggestions and ideas from their team and recognize that brainstorming and different perspectives can bring unique insights.

Problem Solving

TL: Solutions are generally delivered to team members, no active or equal participation of the team members; and

CL: In a collaborative environment, solutions are brainstormed among team members and facilitated by the management.

Resource Allocation

TL: Generally reactive and it is being allocated by the upper management; and

CL: Based on trust and resources are being delivered proactively

Rules and Responsibilities

TL: Relies on series of policies, rules and regulations. Culture is followed by a hierarchy; and

CL: Teams are encouraged to work together. Information, resources, knowledge, time and efforts are shared.

Resolving Issues

TL: Issues are often dealt with on an individual basis with no regards to the root cause of the problem; and

CL: The basis is trust because team members are given more responsibility for their work and leaders are often more involved in the process.

Performance and Feedback

TL: Practice a semi-annual or annual review process based on corporate policy; and

CL: Superiors and subordinates are equally valued. They work closely together on daily basis.

Diagram 1: Difference between Traditional and Collaborative Leaders

        ii.     Traits of Collaborative Leadership

Collaborative leaders possess four leadership traits namely as follows:

Focus on Authentic Leadership and Eschew Passive Aggressiveness: In order for a collaboration to be succeed, leaders need to be authentic and always possess the willingness to follow through commitments.

Relentlessly Pursue Transparent Decision-Making: A collaborative leader should be open and transparent about the answers to three questions; who made the decision, who is accountable for the outcomes of the decisions and is that accountability real.

View Resources as Instruments of Action, not as Possessions: Viewing resources as tools of action rather than as possessions.

Codify the Relationship between Accountability and Rewards: Collaboration demands more distributed and empowered actions across a company. With that empowerment, not only more good outcomes but also increased potential for the bad ones result.

B.  MOTIVATION

Motivation is defined as “the extent to which persistent effort is directed towards a goal.” Motivation is anything that affects behaviour in pursuing a certain outcome. Outcomes in business are usually organizational goals or objectives, and it takes motivation to reach our goals (R.L Dufrene and E.H. Offstein, 2012).

          i.     The Motivation Process

The Motivation process results from the joints effects of personality traits and task or social job characteristics that explain work behaviour (M.R Barrick, M.K. Mount and N. Li, 2013). The motivation process progresses through a series of discrete steps. Needs/motives are the starting point of motivation. Hence, an unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within the individual. These drives generate a search behaviours to achieve particular goals that will satisfy the need and lead to a reduction of tension. No matter which theory of motivation the manger is following, the process is always similar.

Diagram 2: The Motivation Process

        ii.     Three Major Classifications of Motivation Theories

Content Motivation Theories “WHAT Motivates Us”

·      Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

There is a hierarchy of needs that ranges from lower to higher levels. As lower needs are fulfilled there is a tendency for other, higher needs to emerge. Maslow’s theory maintains that a person does not fell a higher need until the needs of the current level have been satisfied. Maslow assumed that people have five classifications of needs, which are presented in hierarchical order from low to high level of need.

Diagram 3: Hierarchy of Needs

·      Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory

Frederick Herzberg outlined to determine which factors in an employee’s work environment caused satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Satisfiers knowns as motivator and dissatisfies known as hygiene factors. According to Herzberg, the theory proposes that people are motivated by motivators rather than maintenance factors.

Diagram 4: Motivating and Hygiene Factor

·      Alderfer’s ERG Theory

This is an extension of Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy wherein the Maslow’s five needs are categorized into three categories Existence Needs, Relatedness Needs and Growth Needs.

Existence Needs: Relate to the physiological and safety aspects of human beings and are the prerequisite for the survival.

Relatedness Needs: Refer to the social needs that an individual seeks to establish relationships with those for whom he cares.

Growth Needs: Self-actualization needs as well as a part of esteem needs which are internal to the individual such as feeling being unique, personnel growth.

Diagram 5: ERG Theory of Motivation

·      McClelland’s Three-Needs Theory

According to McClelland, these motivators are learned, which is why this theory is sometimes called Learned Needs Theory. McClelland states regardless of our gender, culture or age, we all have three motivating drivers and no one of these will be our dominant motivating driver. This dominant motivator is largely dependent on our culture and life experiences.

Diagram 6: McClelland’s Three-Needs Theory

Process Motivation Theories “WHY and HOW Motivation Occurs”

·      Adam’s Equity Theory

This theory explains that people maintain a fair relationship between the performance and rewards in comparison to others. In other words, an employee gets de-motivated by the job and his employer in case his inputs are more than the outputs. Hence, an individual’s level of motivation depends on the extent he feels being treated fairly, in terms of rewards, in comparison to others.

Diagram 7: Adam’s Equity Theory

·      Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Expectancy Theory intends that people are motivated when they believe they can accomplish the task, they will get reward, and the rewards for doing he task are worth the effort. This theory is based on the following assumptions that both internal (needs) and external (environment) factors affect behaviour. Behaviour is the individual’s decision, people have different needs, desires and goals and people make behaviour decisions based on their perception of the outcome.

           

Diagram 8: Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

·      Goal-Setting Theory

This theory introduced by Edwin Locke which proposes that specific, difficult goals motivate people. Goal setting increases commitment, motivation, energy and persistence toward goals (R.L Dufrene and E.H. Offstein, 2012).

Diagram 9: Goal Setting Theory

Reinforcement Theory “HOW Outcomes Influence Behaviours”

Reinforcement theory of motivation was proposed by BF Skinner and his allies. This theory states that individual’s behaviour is a function of its consequences. It is based on “law of effect”, for an example that individual’s behaviour with positive consequences tends to be repeated, but individual’s behaviour with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.  This theory overlooks the internal state of individual whereby the inner feelings and drivers of individuals are ignored by Skinner. This theory only focuses on what happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, according to Skinner, the external environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the employee.

Diagram 10: Reinforcement Theory

C.  COACHING

According to John Whitmore “coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” Thus, coaching is a process of supporting individuals to make more conscious decisions. The ultimate goal of coaching is to help someone move to a new action of behaviour while learning, growing and developing. The fundamentals of coaching are what they are supposed to do, why they are supposed to do it, how they are supposed to do it, how well they are expected to do it and how well they are doing.

          i.     Coaching Guidelines (Lussier Robert N & Achua Christopher F., 2016)

This guidelines are designed primarily for use with employees who are doing a good job.

·      Develop a Supportive Working Relationship

The Manager and employee does not need to be persona friends and socialize together. The relationship between leaders and followers needs to convey concern for them as an individuals and the leader’s commitment to coach them.

·      Give Praise and Recognition

Recognition includes praise, awards and recognition ceremonies. Meanwhile awards include certificates of achievement, a letter of commendation, a pin/plaque/trophy/ medal, clothing, cash, trips, employee of the month and so on.

·      Avoid Blame and Embarrassment

Any behaviour that focuses on placing blame and making the person feel bad does not help.

·      Focus on the Behaviour, Not the Person

Coaching by focusing on changing behaviour and not the person personally.

·      Have Employees Assess Their Own Performance

Criticism being made but one the same time aid and help being offered to overcome the problem faced by the employees.

·      Give Specific and Descriptive Feedback

Specific feedback is vital and needed to avoid confusion over which particular behaviour needs to be improved (R.L Dufrene and E.H. Offstein, 2012).

·      Give Coaching Feedback

The difference between criticism and coaching feedback as illustrated that Criticism: You just wasted time typing in the entire Yahoo web site address, meanwhile Coaching Feedback: Would you like me to show you a faster way to get to the Yahoo home page?

·      Provide Modelling and Training

A good manager leads by example. If employees see the manager doing things in an effective manner, they will tend to copy the manager.

·      Make feedback Timely, but Flexible

Feedback should be given as soon as possible after the behaviour has been observed. For an example, in a situation that you will want to give the coaching feedback s soon as you see the employee lift the box incorrectly. To tell the employee about it few days later will have less impact on the changing behaviour.

·      Don’t criticize

Pacing blame and embarrassment and focusing on the person are types of criticism. Criticism is rarely ineffective. It involves judgement, which is that either the person is right or wrong.  Conversely, when people feel good about feedback they receive, they will be more open to changing behaviour, which increase performance.

        ii.     The Coaching Model for Employees Who Are Performing Below Standard

Coaching is needed when performance falls below expected levels (A.H. Jordan & P.G. Audia, 2012). The Coach Model for People Managers to be precise:

·         Present: Being, existing or occurring at this time or now, currently mentally alert and calm;

·         Caring: To be concerned or interested, to provide needed assistance or watchful supervision;

·         Inspiring: To fill with an animating, quickening or exalting influence, to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought; and

·         Rigorous: Severely exact or accurate and allowing no deviation from a standard.

Diagram 11: The Coaching Model

      iii.     The Performance Formula

Performance formula explains performance as a function of ability, motivation and resources. When the employees’ ability is the reason for keeping performance from being optimal, the corrective coaching action is training. When motivation is lacking, coach the employee by discovering what motivates them. When the resources are the problem, look at getting the needed resources.

Improving Performance with the Coaching Model are as following:

Step 1: Describe the Current Performance

Step 2: Describe the Desired Performance

Step 3: Get a Commitment to the Change

Step 4: Follow Up

Step 5: Document it and Get Feedback

Diagram 12: Description on Performance Formula

D.  GREEN THUMB LEADERSHIP

Leadership insights are like growth in a garden. There are so many lessons that we can learn from nature and apply to our everyday lives. Planting, nursing and growing a young plant into flourishing mature tree holds so many rewards. Similarly, growing people, teams and communities is no different. If we plant the right seeds, nurture and fertilize them, leaders will grow. Green Thumb known as that if your staff is neglected and malnourished, you have not done a god job cultivating your organization. Top executives and managers are the gardeners of the workplace by taking care of their people via giving them what they need to develop roots and ultimately thrive. In order to be the master of gardener of our organization, there are few points from those green-thumb managers who are able to hire, nurture and reap rewards of a staff that’s emotionally healthy, energized and prospering (Leadersedge, 2012) as follows:

·      Preparation

This makes difference between success and failure and it’s prevalent in the areas of recruitment, training and planning. When recruiting, take a look at your team and see what skills, personality traits and perspectives are missing. Don’t keep planting the same white daisies and expect to enjoy pink peonies and purple irises.

·      Time and Attention

Time and attention are the most difficult things for busy executives to provide. Thus, it need to be provided in order to develop a successful staff. We must always make sure that we are available to staffs and aware of what they are doing.

·      Protection

This analysis is key to their dual strategic imperatives of sustainability and survival. The leaders must ensure that they are alert to interlopes in their organization, and amid their staffs and other weaknesses or hazards that may derail the organization’s future.

As a garden reflects the level of care that it’s given, so will your employees reflect the attention and protection you provide, hence taking the time now to warrant the health of workforce, and rest easy that it will continue to bloom well into the future.

ANALYSIS: LEADERSHIP SKILLS: WHAT LEADERS REALLY DO?

Leadership is different from management, rather leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each of it has its own function and characteristics, hence both are vital for success in today’s working/business environment. Management is about coping with complexity. Its practices and procedures are largely a response to the emergence of large, complex organizations. Meanwhile, leadership is about coping with change (John P. Kotter, 2009). This clearly indicates that leadership is different from management, hence a balance between both is needed to the organization to attain ultimate success. There is marked difference in the orientation between management and leadership. Both involve deciding what needs to be done, developing the capacity to do it and ensuring that it is done. Comparatively, management is concerned with order and consistency and leadership is concerned with change.

 i.     Deciding What Needs to be Done

Management involves deciding what needs to be done through a process of goal setting, establishing detailed steps for achieving these goals and identifying and allocation resources necessary for their achievement. Meanwhile, leadership focuses on creating a vision and setting a direction, and developing the strategies necessary to move in that direction. On deciding what needs to be done, quality of the vision need to be clear and precise, the leader’s assessment of the situation; this is because sometimes leaders fail to make realistic assessment of the situation because their diagnosis is unsound and no body challenges their vision, the leader’s attention to stakeholders interest; this is also essential that those exercising leadership are sensitive to the needs and prioritise of key stakeholder and visions that ignore the legitimate needs and rights of some stakeholders may never be achieved because disadvantaged stakeholders act to undermine any attempt to introduce change.

ii.     Developing the Capacity to Do it

Management involves developing the capacity to accomplish the organization’s agenda by organizing and staffing. Leadership focuses on aligning people, communicating the new direction and creating coalitions committed to getting there. In order to develop the capacity to do it, leaders’ needs to align people to achieve vision by developing capacity involves communicating in way that aligns people to achieve the vision. Sometimes leaders fail to create the capacity to get things done because they fail to build coalitions committed achieving the vision, empowering others to act; in those situations where there is a clear and shared sense of direction, committed stakeholders including subordinates are more likely to feel able to take action without encountering undue conflict with others or being reprimanded by superiors.

iii.     Ensuring that it is Done

Management involves ensuring that people accomplish plans by controlling and problem solving. Meanwhile, leadership is more concerned with motivating and inspiring. In ensuring that it is done, Kotter identifies four ways in which leaders can do this by articulating the vision in ways that are in accord with peoples’ values, involving people in deciding how to achieve the vision, thereby giving them some sense of control, supporting others’ efforts to realise the vision by providing coaching, feedback and role modelling and recognising and rewarding success.

What leaders really do that recognise the need for change, identify change goals, communicate a sense of direction, formulate a change strategy involve others, build coalitions, motivate people, provide support and create an organisational content conducive to change.

Diagram 13: Difference between Leadership and Management

CONCLUSIONS: WRAP UP 

Leadership has been a recognized discipline for thousands of years in many areas. Understanding of leadership that it is no longer thought of as a part from management or even administration but they are related and overlapping skills. Leadership is not a process of doing, but rather getting others to do. In addition to motivation, leaders also produce in their people commitment to the organization, belief in the mission and enthusiasm for the task. Thus Leadership is about inspiring people, not just getting things done. Convincingly as Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of United States said “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” Managers exercise their control through formal power but leaders use vision and by inspiration, motivation to align their followers (The Guardian, 2013). Harmonizing the role of both leadership and management are vital to the organization’s attainment.

                                                                                             

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