Leadership

Introduction

"Leadership is about setting a new direction for a group; management is about directing and controlling according to established principles. However, someone can be a symbolic leader if they emerge as the spearhead of a direction the group sets for itself."

The primary difference between leadership skills and management skills, are quite simple. A leader has the skill to remove obstacles for growth, development and performance within a team. Also he or she has the skills to get people to want to do their jobs. He or she generally has the skills to motivate people to want to reach a goal and hold them together until they can reach that goal. The most important skill a leader must posses, would be being able to set direction or vision for their organization.

Management has the skills to control or direct people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established by leadership. They have the skills to recognize our natural talent, and bring this out. They also have the skill to put their self in the shoes of those they manage. This will help them understand what employees are like and what motivates them, and then they can slowly work to mold them and help them to do their best. Those are some of the primary differences between leadership and management.

I'm the type of leader or manager who would lead by example. As a leader I would eliminate potential barriers my employees couldn't see. Also I would expand my vision with the insight of others, and this would potentially create a better vision and end result. As a manager, I would delegate work to my employees, so they felt as though they were apart of the big picture. Also I would get to know each of my team members, both personally and professionally. All in all I think I would do just fine as a leader or manager.