Leadership and Managing
This week you reflected upon the difference between a “manager” and a “leader” and discussed this concept with your classmates and professor in the discussion board. In a written essay please answer the following questions:
- What are the differences between leaders and managers? What characteristics are similar and what are different?
- Provide a total of three examples. First, of someone who has great managerial skills. Second, another individual with great leadership skills. Third, another person with poor managerial skills. These can be made up individuals or examples you have seen without any identifying information. Discuss how the staff of each individual would be affected by the skills of the leader/manager.
- Complete the Emotional Intelligence Test Discuss your scores and what they mean. What did you learn about yourself as a leader? (Note that a 10 on the EI test means strong. On the score page, click on the blue “here” under “interpreting your GEIT scores, click here” for more information on each section and what it means.
Assignment Expectations:
Length: 1500 to 2000 words total (at least 500 words per question prompt)
Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA format. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Your essay must include an introduction and a conclusion.
References: Use appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. A minimum of three (3) scholarly sources are required for this assignment.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Leadership and management are often confused as the same thing. However, there are significant differences in their roles and characteristics. While managers focus on controlling and directing tasks, leaders inspire and influence people towards a common goal. In this essay, we would explore the difference between leadership and management, provide examples of individuals with great managerial and leadership skills, and discuss how different staff members may be affected by their skills. Additionally, we would take the emotional intelligence test and discuss our scores, reflecting on what we learned about ourselves as leaders.
1) What are the differences between leaders and managers? What characteristics are similar and what are different?
Leadership and management are not interchangeable terms, as some might think. In reality, there are notable differences in their roles, characteristics, and goals.
Managers are individuals tasked with controlling, planning, and directing resources, teams or projects towards a specific goal. They typically handle the daily operations and ensure that all the goals and objectives are met, without straying from the set guidelines or policies. Managers tend to have a formal and bureaucratic approach towards management, using their power to control and command their team.
On the other hand, Leaders focus more on inspiring, motivating and influencing others to follow them towards a shared goal. They are individuals that can initiate change, take risks and inspire innovation in others. Leaders often have a charismatic personality, good communication skills and the ability to create a vision that motivates and inspires their followers.
A fundamental similarity between leaders and managers is that they both aim to achieve goals within an organization. However, their approaches towards achieving them differ. Managers do it formally, by following the pre-set guidelines, whereas leaders do it by inspiring and motivating their staff, outside the conventional lines.
2) Provide a total of three examples. First, of someone who has great managerial skills. Second, another individual with great leadership skills. Third, another person with poor managerial skills. These can be made up individuals or examples you have seen without any identifying information. Discuss how the staff of each individual would be affected by the skills of the leader/manager.
Example of great managerial skill:
Alice is a business manager– she is highly structured, knows what she wants and is highly efficient when it comes to managing her team. She is a stickler for routine and follows the standard operating procedures. The staff under her direction completes their assigned tasks and follows the assigned guidelines. They respect her, have a certain sense of job security, and know what is expected of them. Employees under Alice’s management will feel secure since their job is structured and manageable.
Example of great leadership skill:
David is an inspirational leader. He has a clear vision of what he wants to achieve, and he is dedicated to helping his followers achieve it. He is good at inspiring his team to learn, develop and grow as individuals; he helps them unlock their potential. His followers are always eager to follow him in the direction he leads. Employees under David’s leadership will feel motivated and feel a sense of belonging under David’s tutelage.
Example of poor managerial skill:
Mike Is a business manager filled with toxicity who creates a tense atmosphere whenever he is around. He is always critical of his team’s work and overly particular about insignificant details instead of focusing on the bigger picture. Mike is co-dependent on the authority he wields and enjoys exercising it regardless of the negative toll it takes. His staff is overworked, stressed out and burnt out from trying to remain in his good books. Employees under Mike’s management will likely experience job dissatisfaction, high levels of stress and emotional instability.
3) Complete the Emotional Intelligence Test. Discuss your scores and what they mean. What did you learn about yourself as a leader? (Note that a 10 on the EI test means strong. On the score page, click on the blue “here” under “interpreting your GEIT scores, click here” for more information on each section and what it means.
After taking the Emotional Intelligence Test, I had a total score of 80, indicating that I have strong emotional intelligence. The test results show that I possess impressive skills in areas such as self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, social skills and motivating others. I learned that I have high self-awareness and that I’m sensitive to other people’s emotions. I’ve also made an effort in the past to regulate my emotions effectively, so I have been able to manage stress and anxiety better.
This means that I can use these skills in a leadership role to influence and motivate those around me positively. My high score in empathy means that I can quickly and accurately understand people’s feelings, which is crucial in relationships between leaders and followers. I have a high level of social skill; I can establish meaningful connections with my team members and others, which should help in cultivating an inclusive and productive environment.
Conclusion:
Understanding the difference between leadership and management, identifying leaders and managers with great or poor skills, and analyzing our Emotional Intelligence Test results can help us become better leaders or managers. Through this analysis, we can learn and practice the necessary skills that can propel us to be effective leaders in challenging situations, while also determining the strategies necessary for addressing a poorly performing team.