Leadership and management

• Leadership is the ability to influence and direct people in order to meet the goals of a group, in business this would be deciding on the direction for the business or a department and inspiring and motivating the staff to achieve this direction or objectives
• Management is the process through which company resources are used and decisions made in order to meet the objectives of the company, this would involve planning, organising and coordinating people and resources
• Leaders are those that can inspire and motivate people to meet objectives
• Managers will set objectives and decide how to go about achieving them
• Often leaders and managers are one and the same person
• What managers do

  • setting objectives
  • analysing (factors contributing towards achievement of objectives)
  • leading (communicating objectives and directing/motivating subordinates)
  • making decisions (allocation of resources, day to day running)
  • reviewing (monitoring performance, taking action as necessary)
• Internal factors influencing style of leadership

  • expertise and experience of the workforce
  • skills required for the work to be done
  • personal traits of the leader
  • power given to the leader
  • time frame associated with the task to be undertaken
• External factors influencing style of leadership

  • political and legal environment
  • economic environment
  • social environment
  • technological environment
  • changing nature of the industry
• Leadership styles

  • autocratic (authoritarian)
  • democratic
  • laissez-faire
  • paternalistic
  • bureaucratic
• Autocratic - the leader makes a decision without consultation e.g. in the army when quick decisions are required in battle
• Democratic - the leader consults the team and often will allow the team to vote in the decision making process e.g. a skilled workforce where each team member can make strong contributions
• Laissez-faire - the leader allows the team to make decisions e.g. experienced and competent staff given freedom to make decisions themselves (trust in employees to make the correct decision)
• Paternalistic - the leader acts in a fatherly way towards the workforce - making decisions based on the needs of the workforce as well as the business e.g. often family or smaller organisations with a more caring style of leadership (conversational)
• Bureaucratic - leaders work to rules and regulations, 'by the book' (box ticked / forms) e.g. in bureaucratic organisations where the culture is very much led by the rules (could be seen as authoritarian)