Managers And Leaders In Organizations

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction

Nowadays every organization needs some best individuals to manage the process of every department and the company as a whole. These types of human capital are called as managers and leaders. Obviously, those people understand about the mechanism of management and leadership in organization, business enterprise, and bureaucracy. In many years, there has been a long-standing dispute about whether or not management and leadership are diverse from each other (Toor, 2011). On the one hand, the concept of management and leadership has separate function and complementary systems of action (Kotter, 1990; Maccoby, 2000). On the other hand, management and leadership are difficult to clearly distinguish and those things are interconnected in many ways (Bass, 1990; Zaleznik, 1998). From these many scholars’ argument, it can be seen that management and leadership have relationships in order to develop organizations or businesses, yet these two things are different kinds of methods.

The relationships between management and leadership appear when both of these techniques are implemented simultaneously. The two functions are mingled and balanced because sometimes leaders manage and sometimes managers lead (Bass, 1990 and Kotter, 2006). Both leadership and management can be described using the same processes and models, as both leaders and managers employ a mix of leadership and management behaviors (Toor, 2011). Moreover, leadership is not an expert experience and a completely separate activity, but merely an aspect, possibly a highly significant aspect, of managing (Mangham and Pye, 1991). Therefore, in order to compete in globalized market competitively, organizations and companies need people who have a deep understanding of leading as well as managing.

However, from another point of view, management and leadership are completely different. According to Maccoby (2000), management is a function that should be implemented in any business, whereas leadership is a relationship between leaders and led that can invigorate an organization. Without good management, big companies or organizations tend to become disorganized that pressure their very existence (Kotter, 1990). Good management leads to the excellent performance of business activities and improving the quality of companies’ products or services. In another case, major change in the business world has happened in recent years. There are some changes which contribute to the transformation of global market and business activities such as the deregulation of markets, greater international competition, and faster technological change. These conditions require companies to find people with extremely good leadership ability. In other words, leadership has a pivotal role in organizations to boost the positive changes and innovations so that companies can survive in the global market.

Because of the importance of management and leadership in structural organizations, the number of managers and leaders has been growing rapidly over the past years. There are many perceptions about the definition of managers. Early in the past of management, managers were defined as people who are responsible for the work of other people (Drucker, 2007). In other words, managers just do their job based on their formal power and authority. It is clear that managers’ task is associated with analyzing, studying, and improving systematically. Nowadays, the definitions of managers are broader, and variety of what managers are required to do has been continually expanding (Mullins, 2005). According to Drucker (2007), there are five such basic operations in the work of the manager, which are:

Sets objectives. Managers determines what the objectives should be, sets what the mission in each area of objectives should be, and resolves what has to be done to reach these objectives.

Organizes. Managers analyze the activities, decisions, and relations needed.

Motivates and communicates. Managers make a team out of the people that are responsible for various jobs.

Measurements. Managers are focused on the performance of the whole organization.

Develops people. Managers direct people or misdirect them, bring out what is in them or smother them, and support their integrity or distort them.

Leaders, by contrast, are people who have the commanding traits or leadership. They are respected and authoritative toward subordinates or their followers because of prowess and ability as well as supported by their positive behavior. Leaders can lead in the formal and informal organizations, and being a role model for their subordinates or followers. According to Zaleznik (1998), leaders, like entertainers, tolerate turmoil and lack of structure. They keep answers in suspense, averting premature closure on important issues. There are six traits on which leaders differ from non-leaders (Kirkpatrick, 1991):

Drive. This term reflects leaders with a high effort level. Five features of drive are achievement motivation, ambition, energy, persistence, and initiative.

Achievement. Leaders have a relatively high desire for achievement. To meet the challenges, leaders must have a desire to tackle the problems and initiate the organizational improvements.

Ambition. Leaders have a long-term intellection and very ambitious about their work and careers. This ambition leads to more challenging goals for themselves and their organizations.

Energy. To maintain a high achievement drive and get ahead, leaders must have a high level of energy. This energy includes physical, mental, and emotional vitality.

Tenacity. Leaders are better at tackling problems than the others. Leaders must be untiringly persistent in their actions and follow through with their programs.

Initiative. Effective leaders are proactive. They must take actions and make choices that lead to change instead of just responding to events or waiting for something to happen. In other words, leaders must have a high level of initiative.

How to be a Good Manager and a Fine Leader

Whether or not managers and leaders are different, treating them as separate roles is not useful approach in the real workplace and organizations. A good manager leads and a good leader manages (Andersen, 2012). In other words, the management and leadership ability are measured as skill sets that need to be a part of job description for everyone in the organization. To be effective, it is important for companies and individuals to find the right balance between those two.

According to Watkins (2012), there are seven seismic shifts when managers become leaders so that these people both have a good management and leadership ability. The first one is specialist to generalist. This shift is understand the mental models, tools, and terms used in key business functions and develops templates for evaluating the leaders of those functions. Sometimes individuals have some problems during this seismic shift such as managing more several functions and managing less the others. Because of this change, managers and leaders have broader view about each discipline that applies in companies or organizations such as finance, marketing, human resources, operations, and research and development.

The second shift is analyst to integrator. During this phase, the executives with management and leadership ability not only need to analyze the businesses but also understand how to make trade-offs and explain the rationale decisions. The main responsibility of functional leaders is to hire, expand, and manage people who focus in analytical depth on specific business activities. The third movement is tactician to strategist. This shift requires people to move fluidly between the details and larger picture. It is also important to view the patterns in difficult environments and anticipate the reactions of key external players. The next movement is bricklayer to architect. This transformation understands how to examine and design organizational systems. Thus, it will integrate the structure, strategy, operating models, and skill bases together effectively and efficiently. Moreover, this shift also affects the high level of organizational changes.

Another shift is problem solver to agenda setter. This move defines the problems that organizations should focus on, and learn to navigate a far more uncertain and ambiguous environment. The sixth movement is warrior to diplomat. During this change, the executives must influence the key external factors such as the government, NGOs, investors, and the media. In other words, these enterprise leaders have to proactively shape the environment in which the business operates. The last shift is supporting cast member to lead role. This shift obliges the executives to have the right behaviors and being a role model for organizations. Hence, managers and leaders have to communicate and inspire large groups of people, both directly and indirectly.

The seven shifts that explained before constitute the executives’ strategies to become a good manager and a fine leader which contribute to companies, communities, and themselves. Those shifts embrace transferring from left brain, analytical thinking to right-brain conceptual mind-sets (Watkins, 2012). However, the executives still need to maintain their tactics and functional concerns so that management and leadership ability are mixed together, thus they can organize and influence other people, organizations, and external stakeholders such as clients, customers, investors, and suppliers.

Managers and leaders also have to develop their leadership skills in order to understand their roles within organizations. There are ten fundamental skills for these executives namely goal setting, team building, empowerment, vision, time management, communication, conflict resolution, risk, diversity, and ethics (Hopkins, 1996).

Goal setting. It is important for managers and leaders to set their objectives to make them as effective leaders. This skill encourages adaptability, constructs evaluative criteria, and manages a plan for the future (Hughes et al., 1993). Moreover, the objectives should be unique, measurable, and sensible enough to be achievable.

Team building. The executives must concern about producing a team-like atmosphere that would magnify any executive’s repertoire of available skills (Hopkins, 1996). The substance of team building is that "everyone has the right and the duty to influence decision-making and to understand the results" (DePree, 1989, p.24). Through team building, managers and leaders include others in participative management, where others have some arguments into how things are accomplished and how work is done (DePree, 1989). In other words, they are open to the new ideas and new ways of thinking that a team atmosphere can offer, and after that, whole group members can be only as good and effective as its leaders (DePree, 1992).

Empowerment. Managers and leaders have to understand the ability of delegation, and then allowing someone something to do. But more important factor that makes effective leaders is the art of empowerment. According to DePree (1992), there are three strategies in empowering others towards success: 1) give clear and brief directions; 2) present confidence that the task will be accomplished effectively and on time; and 3) have coolness to prepare others in order to make good responsibility.

Vision. One main difference between managers and leaders is that true leadership involves the development of a vision (Hopkins, 1996). Operationalizing a vision needs more than simply understanding a direction for organizations, but these executives must communicate that vision cleanly, sensationally, and decisively (Phi Theta Kappa, 1991). Moreover, to influence others along on this vision, leaders must discover common ground and develop a common language, fervently share the vision with others, and be genuine in their motives and thoughts (Kouzes and Posner, 1995).

Time management. Similar with goal setting, time management is a traditional leadership ability that will serve managers well. The need for time management skills increases exponentially with success (Rehnquist, 1995). The more one experiences success, the less time managers and leaders have to devote to that success (Rehnquist, 1995).

Communication. It is significant for managers and leaders to develop interpersonal communication skills. The effective leaders are evaluated by how well they communicate with others and understand the process of maintaining their relationships. Like all relationships, open and honest communication must live for organizations to run efficiently and to survive over time (DePree, 1989).

Conflict resolution. Some conflict happens when managers and leaders are inconsistent in their actions towards stated missions (Hughes et al., 1993). However, some level of conflict can be useful to organizations to shore up innovation and performance through competition and higher productivity (Hughes et al., 1993). In fact, good managers and leaders should embrace the contravention so that organizations can change and grow up.

Risk. According to DePree (1989), risk involves the executives giving up control of organizational decision making by concerning others while still being ultimately responsible for the decisions being made. Good managers and leaders have to take a risk in every situation as long as that risk is still rational and have positive return for organizations and environments.

Diversity. Managers and leaders have a responsibility to guarantee the diversity in their organizations and to appreciate the diversity of those around them (Hopkins, 1996). This diversity becomes important for managers, leaders, and companies because they live in a multicultural world with various ability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Ethics. Managers and leaders must concern about ethical issues after they are making a decision. According to Hopkins (1996), ethics is what drives managers and leaders in their decision making upon discovery and action, is a valuable skill ensuring effective leadership. In other words, these executives must have a good morality and be responsible about what they have done for companies, societies, and environments.

Top Managers and Leaders

In the real world, there are several individuals who have management and leadership skills. These people not only have those abilities but also successful to implement the management and leadership skills into organizations. In other words, they become a good manager and a fine leader at the same time and make a significant contribution to the organization. For instance, Jack Welch is one of the world-known leaders.

As a CEO of General Electric Corporation (GE), Jack Welch has transformed this company into one of the most successful companies in the world. Jack Welch grew GE from a USD 24 billion company to into a USD 130 billion company, during his tenure in the company (Slater, 2003). Moreover, because of his managerial skills and leadership abilities, Jack Welch also changed GE into a powerhouse with a stunning USD 300 billion-plus market capitalization (Slater, 2003).

Jack Welch altered a complacent behemoth company into an energized company that prepared to cope with world competition. In order to transform GE, Welch used three essential leadership skills which are goal setting, empowerment, and communication within the organization. There are three main areas of Jack Welch’s management and leadership approach (Dullberg et al., 1998):

Goal setting and preparing the company on a corporate level for its competitive challenges.

Empowering employees at all levels of the organization.

Communicating his new missions and visions through the whole organization, via such methods as extensive training programs and newly formed teams.

In terms of goal setting, Jack Welch changed the previous goals of GE with his new wide goals, as well as particular performance objectives, for employees and divisions in the organization. One most important thing, Welch often enhanced his goal setting by constructing a sense of competition within the organization, as well as against all competitors (Slater 1993). Jack Welch also realized that the previous GE’s structural organization represented by an immense nine layers of management between the shop floor and the CEO (Dullberg et al., 1998). Therefore, Welch eliminated all layers of management and forced employees at every stage to take more responsibility for their own work (Dullberg et al., 1998). Those actions were very important in order to simplify the communication between all levels of employees and broke down the unnecessary hierarchies within the organization. In other words, Welch decentralized the organizational structure, as discussed by Pfeffer (1992), that empowerment delegation and effective communication within the organization are an integral part for leaders, managers, and employees to success. These Welch’s management and leadership strategies made the success stories of General Electric Corporation in the world business and conglomerate industry.

Conclusion