The Connection between Management and Leadership Essay

The Connection between Management and Leadership - Essay Example The researcher states that being a leader is easy. Gaining followers is the easiest part of being a leader, but it is still tough for most people. Leading one’s followers is a different prospect though; it demands the maximum one can offer. A well-structured organization should have a pool of leaders and managers in order to be successful. In fact, what they actually need is a few first-class leaders and many brilliant managers. This shows the connection between management and leadership. It is far more difficult to be a leader than a manager. One can go to school and become an excellent manager, but there is no guarantee that reading motivational books and attending workshops can make one a leader. Managers are the persons tasked with the job of management (planning, budgeting, staffing, organizing, controlling and problem-solving). On the other hand, leaders create a path, guide people, inspire, and motivate. In this regard, it is easy to see that leaders interact with peopl e much more than managers do. A leader usually has to go out there and put his skills to the test because the followers always want to see them. On the other hand, a manager can perform his duties in absentia and still achieve a decent degree of success. A manager can sit in his office the whole day and employees will still recognize that he is around. This is possible but difficult in leadership. A leader has the heart, drive, and creativity while a manager has the determination, the logic and the mind. A leader is inspiring, innovative, courageous, flexible and independent, while a manager is analytical, authoritative, direct, consulting and stabilizing. Management and leadership play an important role in service delivery in organizations. Although they are similar in many aspects, they may involve different types of behaviors, skills, and perspectives.