Leadership styles + Management styles: Convergence and differentiation

Summary:

In order to understand de differences between a manager and a leader we should know the meaning or the perception that is established in the population.

The manager is a person how conduct a group of people in order to reach the company’s goal because of recognition and the leader is a person that guide a group of people in order to help them to reach a common goal. We can say that a manager leads just because it is his job but a leader does it because it is a natural feeling.

Sometimes it is better to be a manager that a leader or a leader than a manager, it depends on the situation and the wants of each person. Anyway, although they are different the common thing they have is: Self-Satisfaction.

Some of the differences are:

Inpire of  the differences there are some theories that try to describe the leaders’ and manager’s behavior:

1.    Authoritarian: This is a way of leadership in which there isn’t taken into account the opinion of others and the decisions are irrational and without any kind of fundamental reasons. This leadership lacks of freedom to its members.

2.    Consultative: The leader is capable of share opinions and information with the people involved on the problem or the decision. He always consults every important fact and listen advices.

3.    Democratic: In this one, the leader is just a kind of representative of a group of people. He can’t make any important decision without asking the population about it and he needs to be supported by everyone in the group.

In a multicultural world we can find 4 different kinds of leaders which are classified in:

Question:

Do you (or would you want to) work in an autocratic, democratic, or consultative work environment? What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each?

I would like to work into a democratic work environment because this can make you feel part of a team in which every single member is an important part in the goals and you can say what you thought without being rejected or ignored.

Autocratic: I really can’t find an advantage in this one, because the only fact that can make this leadership good is that the leader thinks the same way that the group do, and this is almost impossible. Some of the disadvantages are that the decisions are imposed and the members can’t be against them and that the leader creates a kind of tyranny.

Democratic: This way of leadership has many advantages like: The members can demonstrate its interests, opinions and thoughts; the decisions are made by taking into account the opinion and needs of everyone. The only disadvantage that I can find is that sometimes democracy can reflect the thoughts or needs of the majority and powerful population and not those of the minority.

Consultative: This leadership is good because there isn’t an only one leader making decisions; the principal leader always has someone to discuss the options and trying to find the best one. Although this fact, the disadvantages are still bigger because they can create a single power that follows their own goals and not the community ones.

Bibliography:

·         The Good Manager: A Moral Manager? Per Sundman Journal of Business Ethics Vol. 27, No. 3 (Oct., 2000), pp. 247-254 Published by: Springer. Article Stable tURL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25074380.

·         Leader Responsiveness, Equity Sensitivity, and Employee Attitudes and Behavior Ted Shore, Thomas Sy, Judy Strauss. Journal of Business and Psychology . Vol. 21, No. 2 (Winter, 2006), pp. 227-241. Published by: Springer. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25092966.

·         Development of Leader-Member Exchange: A Longitudinal Test. Tayla N. Bauer, Stephen G. Green, Talya N. Bauer. The Academy of Management Journal . Vol. 39, No. 6 (Dec., 1996), pp. 1538-1567. Published by: Academy of Management. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/257068

On mission and leadership; a leader to leader guide (2002). Book News, Inc. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/199627326?accountid=45662.