Most effective Leadership & Management Styles & approaches

Management and leadership are two diverse ways of organizing people. Leadership is the ability to influence and create a sense of motivation so as to enable others to make a contribution towards the success of the organization. In its turn, management is a process of directing and coordinating several groups of people in an organization. Leaders are known to detect the problems and come up with creative solutions. They use their commitment to motivate and maintain the focus of others so that they can find solutions to the problems and excel. On the other hand, the managers create strategies, and they come up with methods that will enable them to build teams that meet and operate in a smooth way. They empower their teams by seeking their views. Managers also have a perception that combination reduces the risk, and it generates success. They are also of risk-averse nature, rather than risk-taking.

The leaders are quite opposite. They can take a certain risk so that they can achieve their goals. Another key difference between leaders and managers is that managers have subordinates, unlike leaders, who have followers due to their influence. They also exhibit other differences in the way they perform their tasks. The managers tend to be dictatorial and very authoritative while the leaders are more participative.

These two notions also have some similarities. First, both leaders and managers must have good social skills. Their role is to direct or lead people so that they can achieve a predetermined goal. Both of them should have a strong ability to navigate the various social groups effectively.

Secondly, being a good leader or a good manager is all about dealing with people and directing them towards a common course (Torres, 2013). Both managers and leaders work towards coordination of people. They should not only consider the organizational goals, but they should also consider the welfare of their employees.

Another key similarity between leading and managing is that what comprises good leadership is common to good management (Nayar, 2013). This is because, management and leadership involve the ability to direct the efforts of individuals.

From the research, I found that the Laissez-faire method is the best when managing the work of the subordinates. The subordinates have a lot of freedom. They are given some autonomy in decision-making, and they are more likely to have a higher productivity than when they are denied freedom. Additionally, the method also creates a form of trust between the employers and the employees; this also aids a lot in enhancing productivity.

I totally agree with the idea of CMI 2013. There is no style of leadership than can be described as an ideal. The suitability of a style varies with the situation at hand. There is no unique leadership form than can fit in all conditions. For example, Laissez-faire style is termed as a very effective style but it cannot fit in some conditions.

The examples of leaders who fit the description of how I would like to be lead are Richard Branson. Another example is Warren Buffet. He used the hands-free style of leadership.

As a team member, I would prefer to be lead in a democratic style. I would like a scenario where managers allow members to communicate freely and share their opinions. I would also like it, when managers allow people to learn from their mistakes and reward them when they perform well.

In my opinion, some types of leadership styles are far much better than others. Although it is said that there is no leadership style that is better, I believe that some styles are far much better than others. For example, the democratic style is better than the authoritative style. The democratic style can fit in many situations than authoritative style. In order to resolve the inefficiencies of one style, it is good to use different styles of leadership. The different styles will complement each other.

There are many theories applicable, in this case. The great man theory and the contingency theory are very applicable. Contingency theory states that no ideal form of leadership exists (Leadership Theories). The theory affirms that the type of leadership is very dependent on the situation at hand. The theory also focuses on various variables such as the quality of leadership, as well as characteristics of followers.

The great man theory argues that leaders are born. Great leaders are born with leadership qualities such as confidence, charisma as well as intelligence. The theory explains that leadership is inherent (Leadership Theories). Leadership qualities are not learned, but they are inborn. The theory states that some people were born as leaders. The theory presents leaders as heroic, and it was mainly used to refer to men leaders.

References

Leadership Theories. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from Leadership Central: http://www.leadership-central.com/leadership-theories.html#axzz3VNKN2Hxt

Nayar, V. (2013). Three Differences Between Managers and Leaders.

Torres, S. L. (2013). Leadership vs. Management: Differences and Similarities.