Debating the Nature of Leadership: Personality vs. Organizational Roles

Leadership has been the subject for quite some time now. Management experts have shown how leadership is important for organisations and how leaders emerge. There has been a debate on whether leaders are born or are trained to take on leadership roles. It has also been argued whether leaders are charismatic individuals or those who are highly skilled. Gibbons 1992 discusses how organisational roles shape the nature of leadership.

Those in entrepreneurial positions are leaders who are risk takers; where as those who are in the supervisory roles tend to be those who conform to rules. George 1992 however takes the view that personality shapes leadership more than other traits. Leaders have been known to be persuasive, committed and visionary people and examples like Napoleon, Lincoln and Gandhi are often chosen to show how personality matters in Leadership roles.

Management on the other hand is the ability to reach defined objectives using resources available. Managerial roles have not been seen as charismatic roles, they are more often than not logistical roles that skilled people occupy to be able to take the organisation toward its defined goals. Alvesson and Sveningsson 2003 examine the role of managers in providing leadership. In the modern context, managers are often asked to bear the responsibility of providing leadership in organisations. Today’s corporate manager is seen as a strategist and not someone who necessarily has all the traditional traits of being a leader.

Order custom essay Debating the Nature of Leadership: Personality vs. Organizational Roles with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Management and Leadership: Similarities

Management today is responsible for all the original roles that leadership played. Ohmae 1999 explains how today’s globalized world places different demands on those in power and occupying strategic roles in organisations. Management is responsible for hiring, training and nurturing talent by way of organising and supporting human resources.

The manager is also someone who defines company policy in the context of laws and regulations that exist. Also managers are responsible for a long-term business plan that ensures the organisation keeps growing. In modern firms where a large number of employees work together across the globe, the dividing line between managers and leaders gets blurred and modern technology helps all managers communicate as effectively as leaders would have. Therefore today, the gap between leaderships and management is closing because of these growing similarities.

Management and Leadership: Differences

However there continue to be differences. Leadership is often a position that is acquired through informal developments that give certain people power. Management gives responsibility and authority. Leadership is what defines the long-term mission of organisations while management ensures that these goals are reached most effectively. Management requires specific skills and tools while leadership requires a set of traits that enable the leader lead from the front and do so in a manner that appeals to the entire team. Management is responsible for team building while leadership ensures that the team stays motivated and passionate about its tasks.

Management is responsible largely to the shareholders while leaders must take into consideration all stakeholders. In today’s world where firms face pressure from voters, civil society organisations, the media and consumers, it is critical that top management take on a role where they act as spokespersons and ensure that such pressures do not act detrimentally to the interests of the firm.

Leadership is often seen as a trait that is a function of the specific time and place and leaders bring special traits that enable them to operate successfully in the given context. Management however is a science that allows managers to operate efficiently anytime and in the globalized context, at any place where they apply the principles of management to generate efficiency. Leaders necessarily need to be good communicators, writers and speakers. Managers need to be clear in what they articulate not necessarily spectacular.

Leaders inspire where as managers report. However any growing organisation today requires both leaders and managers. Those firms where managers take the leadership role find the going easier than others. But there are clear roles that both occupy. For firms to grow, in different markets and ensure that growth is sustainable, there is an active involvement from both managers and leaders in defining and implementing strategy. It is firms that are able to generate leaders and nurture managers who would perform well in the marketplace.

Reference

1. Alvesson M and Sveningsson S, 2003, Managers Doing Leadership: The Extra-Ordinarization of the Mundane, Human Relations
2. Gibbons P T, 1992, Impacts of Organizational Evolution on Leadership Roles and Behaviors, Human Relations
3. J. M. George J M, 1992, The Role of Personality in Organizational Life: Issues and Evidence, Journal of Management
4. Ohmae, K. 1999. ‘The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy’. New York: Harper Business.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer