Essay A Leader In Each Of Us

A Leader in Each of Us
Sarah Van Vorst
MGT380: Leadership for Organizations
Joseph Curtin
July 28, 2011

Take a look around your work place, what do you think of the people in charge? Not everyone likes who their managers are. Why do you think that is? There can be a number of reasons but if your manager is not a leader then this is where the trouble begins. Many have worked very hard to prove that not all mangers are leaders. Being able to describe the roles of each, compare and contrast them, and finally choose if managers are all leaders. These will help you as you climb the corporate ladder. What is a role of a manger and how does this differ from a leader? Warren Bennis has this to say about the two, “There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct. Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial.”(Ambler, 2008) When you look at a manager you see someone who is in control and seeks out stability while a leader looks to inspire others and change up the status quo. They are not the one in the same and not all managers are leaders. Being able to lead someone means the others are willing to follow. Managers look more toward the company to put in place the rules for them to enforce them while leaders may not even be a manager looks to build the team. Leaders and managers are alike in some ways. Both are in positions for others to follow them. Although why we choose to follow them is up to personal choice or force. Both have others that are loyal to them and look to them for direction. Some feel that a leader is can naturally have people follow them and the manager on the other hand we must be told to follow. Everyone likes when the person in charge is filling to push up their sleeves and get to work with the rest of the team. Being in this position of power is something that organizations need both of in order to succeed. John Kotter said, “Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action… …Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.” (Ambler, 2008) There is no doubt the there is a difference in being a leader and a manager. When you think of a leader people like George Washington come to mind. Someone who does the right thing not just does things right. Most look for someone who will stand for team and the bigger picture. While mangers are willing to make changes and make sure what needs to get done does, the lack of waiting to lead people hurts them in the long run. People want to feel they are being heard and cared about, a manager remove the emotion from the relationship. Some of the things that leaders do different; “Leaders think outside the box and disrupt the status quo. They search for better, more efficient ways to do things. It is this type of thinking that can create dynamic teams and accomplish the goals you have set forth for your company's future. This is the kind of thinking that can move mountains. Leaders inspire, move, and remove multiple layers of management within an organization, shifting responsibility, forcing out the nonproducers and rewarding those who are the producers. Leaders fully understand the value of self-management and self-motivation. They

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