Leadership and Management

Leadership and management are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, these words actually describe two different concepts. The following report will discuss the differences and examine the roles and responsibilities of leaders in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture.

What is leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management?

• Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i.e. a leader is the spearhead for that new direction

• Management controls or directs people and or resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established

The difference between leadership and management can be best illustrated by considering what happens when you have one without the other…

Leadership without management: Sets a direction or vision that others follow, without considering too much on how the new direction is going to be achieved. Other people then have to work hard in the trail that is left behind, picking up the pieces and making it work. For example, a CEO rescues the company from going out of business by deciding to restructure and expand the business into other markets and forums such as the internet. Although the CEO had the vision to take the company into a new direction, most of the management of the group and details is done by or comes from others.

Management without leadership: Controls resources to maintain the status quo or ensure things happen according to already-established plans. For example, a referee manages a sports game, but does not usually provide "leadership" because there is no new change, no new direction - the referee is controlling resources to ensure that the laws of the game are followed and status quo is maintained.

Leaders play a substantial role and responsibility in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. A leader’s role should be, but not limited to the following:

• Set the directions and create clear visible values and high expectations

• Ensure the creation of strategies, systems and methods for achieving excellence

• Stimulate innovation

• Build knowledge and capabilities and ensure the organizations sustainability

• Spread optimism and encourage all employees to contribute

Now let’s examine the responsibility of a leader to the organizational culture:

• Employee performance

• Take responsibility for success and hold themselves accountable for making things work

• Be trustworthy. Return calls with the information needed, take action effectively and efficiently

• Set the standard for goals, expectations, performance, behavior and communication

A leader's success will depend, to a great extent, upon understanding organizational culture. Many of the problems confronting leaders are traced to their inability to analyze and evaluate organizational cultures. To start making recommendations to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture, one must start by analyzing the current culture. The following is a few guidelines when analyzing an organizations culture:

• Don’t assume that there is a “correct” culture, or that a strong culture is better than the other one. Different cultures may fit different organizations and their environments. The desirability of a strong culture depends on how well it supports the organizations strategic goals and objectives.

• Don’t assume that all aspects of an organization’s culture are important, or will have a major impact on the functioning of the organization. It is up to the leader to distinguish which elements are important and focus on those.

• Don’t assume that culture can be controlled and