Leadership involves the setting of a vision or direction and motivating people to work towards achieving it. Management, on the other hand, refers to the principles relating to functions such as organizing, directing, planning, controlling, and effectively utilizing resources to achieve business goals. Understanding the differences between leadership and management requires an evaluation of what each entails, its roles and responsibilities, required skills, and overall association with other members of the organization (Lopez, 2014).
Similarities
Both leadership and management aim at creating and executing a vision, which occasions developing a strategy to give direction toward the achievement of specific goals or objectives. Such a plan enables the team to understand some of the challenges, resources, and capabilities that would be required throughout the process (Algahtani 73).In addition, both leadership and management can direct the project through evaluating daily operations and reviewing the available resources. Lastly, the two sets of personnel are people-focused as they examine the needs of the society, listen to their problems, and engage them in finding a viable solution.
Differences
While inspiring subjects is the purpose of leadership, management hinges on providing instructions. The former primarily concentrates on motivating people towards success and nurturing their skills and guiding individuals to apply their skills in finding solutions to the problems facing society (Algahtani 76). The latter, on the other hand, ensures that only the set instructions are followed in accomplishing specific tasks. Leadership also seeks to build trust and personal attributes with its subjects to promote a proper and positive relationship between the two parties. Therefore, leaders do not pressurize their followers to accomplish a specific task. However, managers use a controlling attitude in guiding the organization. Lastly, leadership is a self-will art that does not need any prescribed rights or training and is considered a voluntary decision. On the contrary, management requires specific training, experience, and academic qualifications.
In conclusion, whereas both leadership and management focus on people and aim at achieving set goals for the organization, the former is meant to inspire team members while the latter is intended to ensure that employees follow a given set of instructions.
Works Cited
Algahtani, Ali. “Are Leadership and Management Different? A Review.” Journal of Management Policies and Practices, vol. 2, no. 3, 2014, pp. 71-82.
Lopez, R. (2014). The relationship between leadership and management: Instructional approaches and its connections to organizational growth. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6(1), 98-112.