Leaders and Managers Make a Great Team
From common folk like me to professors, psychologists, scientists, everyone has their own definition of what a leader and manager do. According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary a leader is a “person who leads” (para. 1) and a manager is “one that manages” (para.1). So, with these two broad definitions, it would require a further breakdown of what exactly ‘lead’ and ‘manage’ entail.
When a leader ‘leads’ it is assumed that it “involves a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over other people to guide, structure, and facilitate activities and relationships in a group or organization” (Yukl, 2006, p.3). When a manager ‘manages’ it is assumed that it involves a process of someone exerting direction on other people. So with these two different concepts of leading and managing, how do upper managers choose their leadership teams and who do they choose to be a part of a winning team?
According to the article, Leadership Teams, leadership teams are “a group organized to work together to accomplish a set of objectives that cannot be achieved effectively by individuals” (para. 1). This team has to have the characteristics of both a leader and a manager in order for it to be functional; it can not be comprised of all leaders or all managers. A manager and a leader bring to the team unique aspects of their own styles; this is required in order to bring the team dynamics together.
In order for a leadership team to work well they have to be able to bring their individual strengths and combine them to act collectively. Managing is a directive way in order to help establish the cohesiveness of an organization. Most people can lead and direct their subordinates on tasks required. When it comes to leading subordinates it requires someone who is able to influence subordinates. According to Yukl (2006), “managers may be leaders, but only if they have this type of influence...