Blog 3 – Most Effective Leadership & Management Styles & Approaches

Leadership vs. Management

Figure 1: Leadership vs Management

Source: Google

‘There is no single ideal, as the best approach may vary according to circumstances and individual characteristics.’ – CMI (2013).

In response to the above statement, I would strongly agree that the command and control method which is practiced in the past still exist in selected organizations. However, leaders and managers are encouraged to have a more approachable method to overcome varying situations.

Leadership and Management overlap in the sense of sharing similar duties which consist of working with people and influencing others to achieve goals, however, are two different functions. Leadership focuses on developing a vision, setting a direction, advocating change and encouraging new functions towards meeting long-term goals (Bohoris et al. n.d.). The leadership process aligns people with the vision which was developed through effective communication and motivates them through empowerment and basic need fulfillment (Lunenburg 2011).

On the other hand, management focuses on deciding what should be done and getting other people to do it (Mullins et al. 2013).  The management process involves planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, controlling and monitoring activities as well as problem-solving to achieve organizational goals (Lunenburg 2011). Additionally, a good management makes use of its resources efficiently as well as pays attention to the development of its people.

Leaders and managers are distinct with regards to their values and personalities. Leaders value innovation, adaptation, and flexibility (Yuki 2013). They are concerned about the people working for them and the economic outcome as they look into the long-term effect of their objectives and strategies (Yuki 2013). Leaders care about what things mean to people and try to influence these people to a consensus about the most vital things to be done (Yuki 2013).  Managers value stability, order, and efficiency (Yuki 2013). Additionally, are risk-averse when it comes to problem-solving, focused on short-term results and they provide expected results consistently to meet stakeholder demands and leadership needs (Bohoris et al. n.d.).

Leadership Styles

Figure 2: Leadership Styles

Source: Google

There are many dimensions to leadership and various leadership styles which exist in an organization. The vision, culture, and goals of an organization could determine what style of leadership suits best. The different leadership styles comprise of the authoritarian, democratic and the laissez-faire (genuine) style (Mullins et al. 2013).   All of these leadership styles have their own way of determining policies and implementation of new systems and procedures.

The authoritarian style gives managers the power to decide and solely make decisions without the employees having an option of voicing out their opinions and suggestions (Mullins et al. 2013). The democratic style encourages the participation of the entire group as a whole in decision-making which leads to greater interaction among the group members (Mullins et al. 2013).

The laissez-faire style provides freedom to the employees to act in their best interest and not interfere unless help is needed (Mullins et al. 2013).

In my opinion, I believe that the most effective approach to managing the work of subordinates is the democratic (participative) style. This approach gives the employees a sense of belonging and allows them to participate in decision-making whereby new ideas are proposed and discussed. A diversified workforce would be an added advantage to this type of leadership approach as individual talents, creativity and experiences would enhance the pool of ideas leading to good decisions being made. Although the final decision belongs to the top management of the organization, employees would rather feel appreciated for being part of the organization’s development.

The democratic style would not work so well if team members lack adequate skills needed to provide solutions to specific problems or are prohibited from finding out classified information that can’t be shared with the team in order to make a decision (Murdock 2014).

Examples of Leaders Using the Democratic Approach

James F. Parker

.

Figure 3: James F. Parker

Source: The Buffalo News

James F. Parker was the CEO of Southwest Airlines in 2001 and has portrayed great leadership throughout one of the ultimate crisis the U.S. airline industry had ever faced (Glynn 2014).  The 9/11 terrorist attacks caused airlines to be grounded and Parker decided to provide a refund to the customers in which if customers demand for refunds, the airlines would exhaust all its money to stay in business. The outcome turned out to be positive for Parker as some loyal customers sent money back to the airline with the intention of helping the company (Glynn 2014).  Southwest airlines did not retrench its employees or cut their pay during this crisis but instead went all out to resolve this crisis with great team work (Glynn 2014).

In addition, the company also made a planned contribution of $179millon to an employee profit-sharing plan (Glynn 2014).  Despite challenging times, the company still made money in the final quarter of 2001. Parker strongly believes that the success of Southwest airlines partially lies in the hands of its employees due to their team work towards achieving the goal of serving customers instead of focusing strictly on doing their own jobs (Glynn 2014).   Parker also believes that an effective leader would create an atmosphere whereby employees are proud of their jobs, understand the mission of the company and want to do the right thing (Glynn 2014).

Jack Stahl

Figure 4: Jack Stahl

Source: Google

Jack Stahl was the former CEO of Coca-Cola and Revlon. Stahl learned that working with others is the best way to work as he knows how to delegate work to their employees to get a job done but at the same time take a step back when it’s necessary. Given the fact that Stahl simultaneously gives importance to his employees’ views and used his knowledge hands on propelled these two companies to greater heights (Nayab et al. 2011).

Conclusion

A well-balanced organization should have a mix of leaders and managers to be successful as both leadership and management play a vital role towards achieving organizational goals and are complementary to one another (Algahtani 2014).  A strong leadership and management would enable an organization to reach its optimal effectiveness (Algahtani 2014).

945 words

References

Algahtani, D. (2014) Are Leadership And Management Different? A Review [online] 2nd edn. American Research Institute for Policy Development. available from <http://jmppnet.com/journals/jmpp/Vol_2_No_3_September_2014/4.pdf&gt; [2 March 2017]

Bohoris, G. and Vorria, E. (n.d.) Leadership Vs Management A Business Excellence / Performance Management View [online] 1st edn. LUND University. available from <http://www.ep.liu.se/ecp/026/076/ecp0726076.pdf&gt; [2 March 2017]

CMI (2013) Understanding Management Style Checklist 236, Chartered Management Institute: London

Glynn, M. (2014) Ex-Southwest Airlines CEO Offers Lessons In Leadership From Post-9/11 Crisis – The Buffalo News [online] available from <http://buffalonews.com/2014/05/19/ex-southwest-airlines-ceo-offers-lessons-in-leadership-from-post-911-crisis/&gt; [2 March 2017]

Lunenburg, F. (2011) Leadership Versus Management: A Key Distinction—At Least In Theory [online] 14th edn. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION. available from <https://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/comp3120/local_docs/readings/Lunenburg_LeadershipVersusManagement.pdf&gt; [2 March 2017]

Mullins, L. and Christy, G. (2013) Management & Organisational Behaviour. 10th edn. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited

MURDOCK, K. (2014) Participative Leadership: What It Is And When It Works Best [online] available from <https://blog.udemy.com/participative-leadership/&gt; [2 March 2017]

Nayab, N. and Edwards, G. (2011) Analyzing 5 Real-World Leadership Scenarios [online] available from <http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/120498-five-real-world-examples-of-successful-leadership/&gt; [2 March 2017]

Yuki, G. (2013) Leadership In Organizations. 8th edn. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited