1.4 What is the General View of Leadership and Management?

Many have a view of leadership and management, predominantly in the differences between the two. Simon Priest describes leadership as a layer under management, in that under every manager is a leader who needs to be cultivated. This distinction is the idea that management gets things achieved through systems, while leadership gets things achieved with people[16].

This systematic view of management and leadership presents insight on how many people view both categories. Figure 6 offers some common descriptions of how leadership, management, and the area in between are seen by the general public.

Two circles that overlap in the middle with the right listing leadership which is Passion Visionary, and Inspiration. The left lists Management with delegate, Authoritative, and Administrative. The overlap between the two says Goals, Communication and Teamwork.
Figure 5 Separate and Similar Descriptors of Leadership and Management. Long description.

The differences in how one sees management and leadership is dependent on experience. One who might have had an overbearing manager in a previous workplace may be seen as authoritative, where another person who does  more delegating in organizing resources to complete the job would be considered to be a facilitator.  Differences in leaders can be encountered with one who is passionate about the work in the here-and-now, compared to another who is a visionary, constantly looking to the future for success.  Experience is the main way management and leadership are interpreted and perceived.

The main factor is that many people will experience management and leadership on different levels based on how they are perceiving management and leadership. One way to help understand the complex nature of leadership and management is understand the organizational complexity that is present within organizations through the use of metaphors and creating an interconnected web of ideas to develop your own understanding of leadership and management based on your experience.  Experience is the main way management and leadership are interpreted and perceived.

One way to understand the complex nature of leadership and management is to grasp the complexity that is present within organizations through the use of metaphors to create an interconnected web of ideas to develop your own understanding of leadership and management based on your experiences.

Activity: Leadership and Management Concept Map

  • Feel free to use this template or create your own concept map.  If possible,  find connections between your ideas of leadership and management.

Template for Leadership and Management Concept Map with a bubble that says Leadership and Management which points to other blank bubbles and they point to more blank bubbles.

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Leadership in the Workplace Copyright © by Clayton Smith; Carson Babich; and Mark Lubrick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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