Similarities and Differences in Leadership Theories

It may seem that leadership is the same as the process of leadership itself, but if you look at the situation in detail, they are different things. The manager is responsible for ensuring that the company’s employees carry out everything efficiently and accurately according to his orders. The leader tries to direct employees to work in one or another area of activity. According to the manager, every employee of the enterprise should be interested in success, therefore he is obliged to work creatively, his impulses should benefit the enterprise. As practice shows, model 2 of behavior is much less common, although the effectiveness is higher.

Definition of concepts

Ideally, a manager should be a leader who trusts his employees and tries to put himself in their position in any difficult situations. Leadership is very different from management.

You can be a leader, both having the position of manager and not having it. Often completely different people play this role. This may be a formal status, not certified by documents.

A leader is a person who enjoys authority.

His opinions are listened to by ordinary employees in the process of solving certain problems. Only a leader manages to implement projects and ideas very quickly and efficiently. Sooner or later, every leader does not show his best side, due to which he loses his status. The old leader will always be replaced by a new one who will guide the staff, and everyone will trust him.

A manager is a formal official who must combine leadership qualities and manage employees, but usually managers shift responsibilities to deputies.

This could be the classic option - the director of a company or the head of a large department of a huge company. Such a person cannot keep track of everything, so he has to use the help of other employees. His main difference is legitimacy, and this is not characteristic of a leader.

We can conclude that the main difference between a boss and a leader is holding a leadership position and the ability to shift his leadership functions to the shoulders of other employees.

Guide functions

The content of the concept of a leader is determined by the totality of his functions. The phenomena of leadership and management in a small group have been studied for more than a hundred years, so during this time many different classifications of these functions have been proposed, proven and disproved. It is quite difficult to maintain a common opinion on this issue, since in practice all functions are intertwined with each other in one way or another. The following list of the main functions of management can be given:

Organization of management activities.
Defining goals for a small group, as well as forecasting, planning results, information, decisions, organizing mass activities.
Monitoring work and assessing management effectiveness.
Disciplinary and educational function.
Communication and regulation.
One of the most essential functions is the integration of small group members.

As for the managers themselves, they usually divide their functions into two categories - production and socio-psychological. There are a great many classifications of managerial functions, some of them are similar, some are different from each other. As for approaches to leadership and management, among them the most interesting is the approach to managing people through organizational activities.

Basic qualities

A leader differs from a manager in certain qualities and characteristics. The following is characteristic of a leader:

appointed by authorized bodies and higher authorities, who do not even have the opportunity to evaluate the work of this person;
the main responsibility is to fulfill all obligations in any way (even by shifting functions to other employees);
any manager in the process of activity uses traditional forms and means of work;
the manager is not always the favorite of ordinary employees because of his injustice;
he usually forces employees to do tasks, even if it is not part of his duties;
the interests of the manager usually do not coincide with the interests of the staff; is responsible for the material and legal base of the enterprise;
each manager receives a position based on high levels of technical skills, knowledge of a particular field of activity, etc.;
removed from employees due to social status, he feels uncomfortable in such a society, just as they do in his presence;
always enjoys a high position.

A leader has other characteristics. This is the soul of the company of any enterprise, which sincerely cares about the success of the company, even if it does not benefit from it. He is able to lead people, because they see in such a person an ideal leader. Among the main characteristics of a leader, special attention can be paid to the following:

the ability to win people over;
sociability and friendliness;
is an example for many to follow;
selected by society, without documentary consent or other formalities;
works in the interests of employees without being too lenient towards them;
does not always act according to a clearly developed algorithm, is guided by his knowledge and often has a creative approach to solving problems;
knows how to properly motivate employees;
a leader always has advantages: he is well informed in all news about company affairs, takes a direct part in the affairs of the workforce, and does not just observe it;
he is responsible for the decisions he makes and can pay in full for this, depending on whether he wants to use his advantages or not;
such a person leads all employees, demonstrating a clear example of what a conscientious employee should be.

Essence, goals and objectives of management

What does the word "leadership" mean? In a general sense, it is the control over the actions of a person or group of people to achieve a specific goal. In the field of management, this is the same process of team actions for the high-quality implementation of high-level tasks. That is, it provokes team members to achieve goals by influencing their needs.

Definition 2

Management is carried out by a person who has been officially appointed to this position. In accordance with this, he is the boss of his subordinates and fulfills the powers of attorney that are given to him from above.

To summarize, leadership runs parallel to management and management. It differs only in that it has an official character.

A leader can be identified by the following characteristics:

must always be attentive and responsible for himself, his team and general actions;
the presence of a team and power over it;
it is possible to manage and perform other functions with the rights and powers vested from above;
responsibility for one’s own decisions in implementing certain tasks and solving problems.

The functions of this activity are equal to the sphere of management. Among them are:

work organization
team unification
planning and control of task execution
motivation.

Behavior styles

It is often on the basis of behavioral style that a manager is distinguished from a leader. This behavior is usually determined by the individual qualities of a person, so it cannot be said that some of them are characterized by one style, and another by another.

Experts have identified 3 styles of managing a work team: authoritarian, democratic, liberal.

An authoritarian management style is typical for managers. This is constant strict control of the performed duties of employees and their punishment in case of certain problems. With an authoritarian management style, the individual qualities of the employee are not taken into account. It is considered as a robot needed in the company to perform certain functions. This management style is productive for the company. It is profitable and productive. Employees who do not feel needed sooner or later quit, thereby losing everything that has been earned over a long time.

Democratic style is characteristic of leaders. The opinion of even the most ordinary employees is taken into account, which is extremely important. The key decision on almost all issues is made by general voting. A leader using this strategy feels like an employee like other officials, regardless of status. The democrat always listens to the wishes of employees and does everything to make everyone feel comfortable working in such a company. This style is the most effective. Each employee sees that the leader understands, values and respects him. They try to repay him in kind, doing their work efficiently and striving for new heights. There is a friendly atmosphere in the team, employees communicate well with each other and are ready to help each other at any moment (on issues that directly relate to work).

The liberal style is characteristic of those managers who are not interested in the success of the company or the needs of employees. They shift management responsibilities to other employees, and they themselves do not even know who works for them. This is the most failed management style that leads a company to bankruptcy.

Comparison

It is not entirely correct to draw a line between these categories on such grounds as management style, interference in the activities of the team, and authority. After all, both the leader and the manager can be equally passive or active, despotic or democratic, educated or illiterate. When discussing categories without emotion, the differences are seen in completely different ways.

Firstly, a leader is a broader concept than a manager. These can be both formal and informal “leaders” of the community. Secondly, the leader always has a legitimate status. His loss automatically entails the loss of his place. The leader can be the unspoken spirit of the nation or society. Even if he is removed from his position, he will still retain his authority and status.

conclusions

It is clear how informal leadership differs from leadership. If the leadership process is based on the use of individual abilities, then we are talking about informal leadership. In this case, leadership qualities are noticed by the employees themselves, gradually turning an ordinary person from their social circle into an authority, an example to follow in the work process. If the influence comes from a person who occupies a leadership position, but is not friendly towards employees, then we are talking about leadership. This is formal leadership, certified in documents.

In life, these 2 qualities are rarely found in one person, but this combination can be considered ideal. However, if a manager does not have the qualities of a leader, he must work on this in order to become one in the future. Otherwise, an informal leader may always appear who will “outdo” the manager and take his position.

What is a small group?

To understand the issues of leadership and management in a small group, you need to define the latter. So, a small group is a collection of people who build interpersonal relationships, communicate with each other, and have a certain influence on each other. A basic example of a small group can be called primary production teams, management teams, and so on.

Currently, about fifty different classifications of small groups are known. They differ in the time of their existence (long-term and short-term), in the degree of close contact between members, in the way a person enters them, etc.

The three most common classifications are:

dividing small groups into “primary” (the main feature is the directness of contacts) and “secondary” (there are no such contacts);
division into “formal” (all positions are clearly defined) and “informal” (created within formal groups);
division into “membership groups” and “reference groups”.

Synthetic theory

This is a kind of compromise that scientists have come to. Here, it was no longer character traits that were taken into account, but three indicators - leader, situation, group. Management, management, leadership is when a leader influences a small group and it, in turn, influences him. Then he influences the situation, and the situation, accordingly, influences him. The group then influences the situation and vice versa. Here, the concept of leadership and management in a small way is defined as the result of the interaction of all three variables. But these variables have not yet been precisely defined, since other factors may be added to them. An example is such a factor as the duration of the group’s existence. Synthetic leadership theory is a systems approach and has proven to be the most accepted of all. Further research into the issue was to one degree or another based on this theory.

Leadership style

Leadership and group management styles are determined by analyzing a specific, current situation. Here the sphere of influence and psychological characteristics of the leader are of great importance. These indicators are the basis for those methods of decision-making and influencing a small group that are used regularly and systematically. This is the leadership style. Leadership and management in psychology, including behavioral styles, were studied by McGregor. He distinguished authoritarian, democratic and liberal styles of leadership and management. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Democratic style

A person who adheres to this leadership style considers the main need of his subordinates to be self-realization. As for traits, first of all, he is an energetic, strong-willed person, a worthy professional. He communicates with employees in a confident tone, but always correctly. Democrats are characterized by restraint and lack of emotions, however, in certain situations he can make concessions. He will always listen to everyone and inform everyone about their immediate goals and objectives. Also, such managers are fans of collective decision-making, but at the same time clearly delineate their functions, the functions of assistants, and so on. When it comes to the issue of leadership and management, the democratic style is considered to be the most preferable of all. While good relationships, both interpersonal and at the manager-subordinate level, are maintained, a high level of labor productivity is still observed.