What is leadership? How is it different from management?
While it would seem that leadership should be relatively simple to describe, it is not. We know it when we see it, but what exactly is "it"? We see the external behavior and can study the traits that leaders have in common, but what is it that allows some to succeed while others flounder repeatedly?
Some have speculated that leadership is something that you either have or you don't, yet studies of leaders have shown that even the most talented go through a development process. There are no natural leaders. Everyone must work at some aspect of leadership. Potential leaders possess a diversity of traits and experiences that they must come to understand, compensating for their weaknesses and developing their strengths. It is also important to realize that those who lead effectively in one context may be ineffective in another, so understanding situations and people is a necessary element as well. Leadership does not occur naturally. If you aspire to be an effective leader, you must study leadership and leaders; you must greatly increase your understanding of yourself and others; and you must constantly strive to develop yourself and your leadership ability.
Since the middle of the 20th century, researchers and practitioners of leadership have sought to understand the nature of leadership, in particular the traits, skills, practices, and development of effective leaders. In an age of rapid change and increasing complexity, along with a diminishing trust in top level leaders, the need for engagement around the tenants of effective leadership has surged. J Thomas Wren proposes that the study of leadership must be a part of the broader context that comprises investigation of all human behavior, approaching leadership as the province of the many rather than of a few top executives. Indeed, much of the literature surrounding leadership applies its concepts to lower and middle managers. Wren defines leadership as "an interactive process in which leaders and followers engage in mutual interaction in a complex environment to achieve mutual goals." He further explains that "vitality at middle and lower levels of leadership can produce a greater vitality in the higher levels of leadership." G...Yukl and P. G.... Northouse concur with the idea that leadership is a process for achieving common goals, adding that this process involves influencing others. Still others have added to this definition the environmental context in which the leader and followers exist. Researchers such as Smircich and Morgan, Bergamini, and Smith and Peterson add that leaders make sense of the environment for followers: structuring experience, organizing meaning, and providing a basis for understanding the significance of activities.
Definition
While those who study leadership disagree on its definition, they agree on several common characteristics:
1st Leadership is social and interactive. It is impossible to lead without followers.
2nd Leaders influence group members toward the achievement of cmmon goals.
3rd Leadership is hierarchical. Even relatively flat organizations place the leader at the top.
The following definition of leadership is used in this book:
Leadership is an interactive process involving a leader influencing followers in the pursuit of a common goal.
Leaders work with groups of people, whether small or large. There may also be more than one leader in a group: Anyone who influences a group is a leader, and this influence is not restricted to the person with a formal position of power. Leaders and followers may exchange roles in some situations, for example when followers possess knowledge that the leader does not, as often occurs in a technical environment.
Leadership and Management
Management, although it parallels leadership in that both involve the achievement of common goals through people, is not the same as leadership. At times the two activities may appear outwardly similar; however, the mindset of the leader is distinct from that of the manager. According to W. Glenn Rowe, managers believe that they react to decisions that are made for them by the organization, while leaders believe that they have the freedom to make choices that shape the environment. Leaders set the direction and managers handle the details. Leaders provide the focus toward which managers drive. A leader inspires others to voluntarily follow, connecting with people and effectively communicating on an emotional as well as a cognitive level. A leader empowers other people and seeks to develop others' potential. While most successful managers easily gain the respect of their superiors, a leader gains the respect and loyalty of her subordinates as well.
Both functions are vital to the success of an organization, and John Kotter suggests that organizations need leader-managers: those who can inspire and motivate people while also planning, organizing and controlling. Leaders are more likely to be managers than mangers are to be leaders. Individuals who perform both functions well have no doubt worked very hard to develop the areas in which they are least strong.
If you view leadership as a process rather than as rare traits possessed by a super leader, and further, if you view leadership as the province of everyone, not just those few who are born with it, then leadership becomes bound to its particular context, the situation and people involved. No particular set of talents is necessarily required, nor do you need to have achieved a certain position to exercise leadership. The age-old question: Can leadership be learned? is answered affirmatively if leadership is understood to be a process as opposed to a person. The process of leading can be learned, and effective leadership can be developed.
Leadership has been described as a process of sense-making, an ability to understand daily operations and the context of the internal and external environment. Leaders see opportunity where others miss the vision, and they are able to assemble the pieces of day-to-day functions within the greater frame of the future. It is in making sense of things that leaders find purpose and a vision for moving forward. If you can develop the art of sense-making, then you will have mastered one of the most important cognitive aspects of leadership.