Studio Scribis

Even though they might involve overlapping skills, leadership and management are actually two different concepts and disciplines altogether (Dusya and Crossan 2016). Prof. Kanosuke Matsushinta from Harvard University (2013) tried to explain the main differences in these concepts as follows:

• Management is more concerned with the processes of running a day-to-day business (such as planning, delegating jobs, quality control, and problem-solving
• Leadership is more about “aligning people to the vision”. That involves communicating the vision, motivating people, and inspiring them to follow it.

Review of Classical Theories

To distinguish further between leadership and management, we should turn to the literature. Several classical theories and models have tried to explain the similarities between leadership and management functions.

• In 1916, Henri Fayol created the first principles of the Classical Management Theory. In his view, there are five functions of management. These include: planning, organizing, coordinating, commanding, and controlling (CMI Institute 2012).
• Meanwhile, John Adair (1973) in his studies identified eight functions of leadership. These include: setting goals, planning the task, briefing the team, controlling the results, evaluating the outcomes, motivating individuals, organizing the manpower, and setting an example to be followed (Gosling, Marturano, and Dennison 2015). 

These theories imply that even though both leadership and management functions play some important roles in an organisation, sometimes it’s difficult to draw a clear line between these roles. Some managers can also be effective leaders, but it’s not always the case that good leaders are great managers as argued by Williams (2016). Ratcliffe (2013) gave us a powerful example of this contradiction. He stated that even though Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, who became famous for his strong leadership during the Second World War, wasn’t a manager.                                  

To better understand the leadership concept, various theoretical models have been proposed.

Action-Centered Leadership Model 

John Adair’s Action-Centered Leadership Model (shown in Figure 1, below) implies that a leader’s effectiveness is measured by effectiveness in the following three areas: accomplishment of a common task needs, accomplishment of team needs and meeting individual team members’ needs. The three needs are represented as overlapping circles in the figure below (Mullins 2010:413).

Figure 1: Action-Centered Model (Source: Constructed based on Mullins 2010:413)

Advantages of Adair’s Action-Centered Model

• The model is simple and easy to apply in the workplace.
• It also implies that leadership can be trained rather than being inborn.
• The list of leadership activities can be linked with Henri Fayol’s classic management functions. For instance, building a team spirit involves leadership while achieving a common task involves management (Mullins 2010:413). 

Criticism of Adair’s Model

Achieving balance among the three main leadership functions is difficult in real-life business context as many leaders tend to prioritise one need above the others.

• For instance, John Gibbs the CIO of Rolls Royce gets tasks done by encouraging cross-functional teamwork and close relationship with individual staff, whose needs for job sharing support or development of talent he supports (Rossi 2016).
• On the other side, the former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs was more concentrated on task accomplishment, leaving individual and team needs secondary (Mitchelson 2014).

Transformational Leadership Style

I believe that one of the most effective approaches to managing subordinates’ work is the transformational leadership style. Within an organization, transformational leaders have a great impact on both economic and human transformations, as they set visions, missions, and goals that inspire employees to work towards achieving them (Givens 2014).

Bass and Avolio (1994) have associated the following behaviours with transformational leadership: moral and ethical behaviours, inspirational motivation, encouraging critical thinking and innovation, paying attention to individual needs, and making decisions for the greater good of society.

Figure 2: Transformational Leadership Traits (Source: Constructed based on Bass and Avolio 1994)

Elon Musk: co-founder of PayPal, CEO of Tesla Motors, SpaceX

Elon Musk is one example of the contemporary transformational leaders whom I admire. After the 2008 financial crisis, Musk took the leadership of Tesla Motors, where he currently serves as CEO (Forbes 2016).

His original vision, together with strong dedication, perseverance, and a hard work ethic (he said in an interview he works 100 hours a week), has shaped the working culture at Tesla Motors (Gregerson and Dyer 2016).

After his takeover, Tesla engineers started working harder to innovate and transformed the automotive industry by introducing electric cars that “go faster and further than other vehicles” (Gregerson and Dyer 2016). All due to the vision of their leader.

In 2016, Forbes recognized his influence as a leader and ranked Musk 34^th most powerful man in the world (Forbes 2016).

Steve Jobs: the late CEO of Apple

Alike Musk, Steve Jobs was a genius and a visionary leader that transformed a company that was heading towards bankruptcy in 1997 into the most valuable brand in the world in 2011 (Entrepreneur 2011).

Under his visionary leadership, he helped transform Apple by introducing a series of revolutionary technologies, including the iPad and Iphone amongst others.

He spoke with so much passion, intensity and emotion about new gadgets every time Apple had a product launch. This passion for his values and beliefs was also transferred to Apple’s products, which he launched (Isaacson 2012).

CONCLUSION

I agree with the CMI (2013) statement that there is no single ideal leadership style, and approaches vary according to circumstances. As such, it may be difficult to describe leaders by using one style or another, and a combination of styles may be more correct. For example, if the economic and political environment are favourable or at a stable stage, then a leader may find that a managerial approach is more essential than transformational or charismatic leadership ideologies. Conversely, during economic downturn the inspirational leadership style is more essential as leaders have the opportunity to activate people to do something they haven’t done before and push the innovation boundaries; not so much to do something they’ve always been doing well (Ratcliffe 2013).

---

REFERENCES:

1. Gosling, B., Marturano, J. and Dennison, P. (2015) A Review Of Leadership Theory And Competency Framework. Edited Version of a Report for Chase Consulting and the Management Standards Centre. Exeter: Centre for Leadership Studies [online] available from < http://www2.fcsh.unl.pt/docentes/luisrodrigues/textos/Liderança.pdf> [18 October 2016]
2. Chartered Management Institute (2012) “Henri Fayol
Planning, Organisation, Command, Coordination, Control
Thinker” [online] available from < https://www.managers.org.uk> [18 October 2016]
3. Dusya, V. and Crossan, M. (2016) “Strategic Leadership And Organizational Learning”. Academy of Management Review 29 (2), 222-240
4. Entrepreneur (2011) Steve Jobs: An Extraordinary Career [online] available from <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197538> [19 October 2016]
5. Forbes (2016) Forbes Top 100 [online] available from <http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/elon-musk> [19 October 2016]
6. Givens, R. (2008) “Transformational Leadership: The Impact On Organizational And Personal Outcomes”. Emerging Leadership Journeys 1 (1), 4-21
7. Isaacson, W. (2012) The Real Leadership Lessons Of Steve Jobs [online] available from <https://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs> [18 October 2016]
8. Michelson, J. (2011) [online] available from <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-michelson/one-lesson-from-steve-job_b_1100331.html> [18 October 2016]
9. Mullins L. J. (2010:157-162) ‘Management and Organizational Behaviour’. Ninth Edn. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Ltd
10. Pongpearchan, P. (2016) “Effect Of Transformational Leadership On Strategic Human Resource Management And Firm Success Of Toyota’s Dealer In Thailand”. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research [online] 10 (2), 53-55. available from <http://www.jbrmr.com> [18 October 2016]
11. Ratcliffe, R. (2013) What’s The Difference Between Leadership And Management? [online] available from <https://www.theguardian.com/careers/difference-between-leadership-management> [18 October 2016].

---