How to Be a Manager That Leads - Coursework Example

How to be a Manager that Leads Introduction Management in very simple terms is the act of organizing a group of people and obtaining resources to achieve the desired goals and objectives. This is divided into the following functions: planning, organizing, leading, directing and controlling. However, the focus of this paper is only management in terms of leading. The definition of management clearly states that it is an art of getting work done through the people. So basically the manager does not have to do everything on his own but inspire others to carry out the tasks to achieve the desired result. This is the part of leading individuals towards achieving a predetermined common goal. Further, it is known that one of the most important jobs of a manager is allocating and utilizing the resources in the best possible manner and one of the most crucial resources of any organization is their human resource or man power (Maundy 2001). This clearly shows that the manager’s most important duty is leading the workforce. This paper will discuss how managers can lead in order to utilize their men power in the most efficient way and to bring out the best from them and to enhance their contribution and performance. The two major areas of focus will be the steps that managers can take in most circumstances and the other the right type of leadership style that can be adopted in a given set of conditions (Heath 1994). Steps Involved in Management through Leading Management through leading is not an easy task and involves several different steps and measures. These steps will insure that the manager inspires the people who look up to him and creates an environment that allows creativity and maximizes efficiency. Firstly, it is very important to select the right type of people for a specific task. Wrong people putting in 100% effort cannot produce the effect that the right type of people with half the effort and energy can. Therefore, the group or team should be inspected and finest of details considered before finalizing a particular set of people. Factors that need to be considered include the talents and knowledge related to the task at hand, the terms that individual has with the rest of the team members and head or supervisor and also are these individuals comfortable with the leading style of that particular manager (Guarrero 1998). This though is considered a step of organizing however, due to its close connection with the leading part of management it becomes a crucial part of the topic under consideration. Once this step is successfully implemented the managers can smoothly move to the next agenda on the leading list and that is communicating the goal of the task at hand. This is going to vary from department to department and from one project to another. However, the normal procedure of carrying this out will not differ from one situation to another. For this it is very important that the leader himself is very clear about the purpose of the task conducted. Only then will he be able to communicate it to others properly. However, only communicating it is not enough. It is very crucial that employees are also as enthusiastic, about achieving the goal, as the heads are otherwise they will not be motivated to apply the best of their efforts and energy. For this purpose, the managers have to align the goals of the task with that of the employees. One way of doing is to show how the task under consideration is related to the overall goals of the organization which the employees are already aware will benefit their personal goals (Kotter 2000). We can see an example here. If an organization has an aim of reducing wastage due to accidents at the work place they can inform their employees that this will increase the profits of the firm which can then be invested in human resource welfare which will obviously be beneficial for them or that amount will be invested in the expansion of the business which again is advantageous for the people because it will secure their future with the firm. Apart from creating a desire to achieve the goal and creating a common goal, it is also important, as part of the leading process, to motivate employees to contribute their best to the task at hand. For this it is very important that the manager shows that he is also putting his best to the job and it is his utmost priority. If he or she succeeds in doing so he will inspire others to do so too. Further, conflicts are an inevitable part of working in groups or teams and to some extent they are even beneficial. However, if they exceed the optimum level they can become serious hindrances and affect the smooth working of any project or program (Rahim 2001). It is the duty of the manager to prevent these conflicts and maintain peace and harmony to ensure smooth running of any function or task being carried out. He needs to make sure that there is proper and hurdle free communication between all the respected members and also that the focus remains on the task and does not become personal otherwise the issue will aggravate and the end result will be a deadlock situation. Apart from the above mentioned functions, the manager in form of a leader also needs to ensure a state of synergy so that the best result can be derived through the joint effort of all the respective people. This he can do by creating an environment of free accessibility and communication so as to ensure that any individual who has an idea does not keep it to himself due to evaluation apprehension or group influence. This is the responsibility of the leader because he can ensure this through setting an example himself and being open to ideas coming from employees at any level (Newstrom 1997). Finally, once the task is accomplished the duty of the leader does not end their he has to find a way to share the success with his subordinates and to ensure that they take it as a personal success so that next time around also they are willing to take an initiative and move forward themselves to take measures and bring about changes. It is not necessary that all the above mentioned steps are followed by any manager trying to lead and some steps might be skipped or new ones introduced depending on the circumstances at hand but generally these steps are the ones that a manager can adopt to carry out his functions through leadership. Being Accepted as a Leader Apart from these functional steps, it is very important that the managers also create a positive image of themselves. It is not only enough to be a leader through the legitimate position but it is very important for subordinates to accept managers as a leader. For this reason they need to ensure that there is a high degree of trust for them amongst the subordinates and they also consider one a role model or are inspired by them. For this they need to avoid any possible blunders and if they do conduct some mistakes then they need to be honest about it and declare it openly. Through these measures and several others they will not only respect and trust their managers but also apply these practices to themselves and this way there will be complete transparency in a given organization. In addition to this, another very popular technique is to become a leader through informal means or making an informal leader the manager of a given group. An informal leader is the one who is accepted to be a role model or mentor either because of his knowledge about a given subject or due to some personality trait such as charisma. If these informal leaders are made managers they will very easily manage through leading. Choosing the Right Leadership Style Many management experts have came up with several different leadership styles. The list of such experts is long and includes names like that of Kurt Lewin who divided the styles into four categories. These included dictator, autocratic, participative and laissez fair. Others explained leadership in terms of the contingency factors. Another very important classification of leadership divides it into two broad categories one is transactional and the other is transformational. Transactional is the one who is mostly concerned about the end result of the process and he exerts power through rewards and punishment (Hall 2002). He gives commands and others follow it. On the other hand, transformational leaders are those that motivate their subordinates to ensure that the task is carried out in the way planned. However, when we talk about the practical application of these theories it is very important for managers to choose the right leadership style in a given situation and with a specific group of people otherwise it can easily backfire. This means that the manager has to consider a number of factors before deciding on the style he will use to lead his subordinates. The managers not only need to know the capabilities of their employees and their ability to handle delegated tasks on their own and self manage but also their personal preference for the leadership style and also their expectations (Ibrahim 1996). If they are more educated and experienced they will be able to manage their own tasks and would prefer democratic style but they will expect their leader to be accessible in case they need guidance or correction at any point of time. Apart from this, other factors regarding the scenario also need to be considered. For example the nature and confidentiality of the task and the time span available for the task to be conducted. For instance, if it is a state of emergency and the task has to be conducted in a very short time period then the most suitable style is autocratic because no time is available to be wasted in discussion and consultation and decisions have to be made in short intervals of time. On the other hand, in creative businesses such as movie making and advertising it is very important that laissez fair style is adopted. This gives the flexibility and independence which is required to ensure that individual creativity is not hampered in any way. Some people however argue that every manager has a particular style and cannot amend it according to the given set of condition. This applies greatly to the difference between transformational and transactional leaders. Many suggest that the situation and task has to be considered first and then the decision to be made accordingly about the leader to be chosen. This approach also states that all the above mentioned factors should be considered but in the process of selecting the appropriate leader for a given job (Day 2004). However, this has been contradicted and declared that though managers have a tendency to a particular style but through conscious effort they can alter it to better suit the conditions at hand. Other Side of the Coin There is some contradiction and disagreement on the actual amount of influence that leaders have on their subordinates and also their contribution to the overall achievement of the target (Minter 2000). They say that there are biased attributions about the leaders and that makes us overstate their contribution to the working of the organization. However, others contradict and many practitioners still highlight the important role that leaders play in motivating their subordinates and getting the job done in the most efficient and effective manner. Conclusion It is important to understand that leaders and managers are not interchangeable titles. Leaders can be managers but managers are not necessarily leaders. For managers who want to carry out their function by leading need to have the above mentioned characteristics and need to carry out the functions stated above. No matter what leadership style they adopt if it is in line with the demand of the situation it will most probably function properly and produce the desired effect and will bring out the best of his subordinates. References Day, D (2004). Leader Development for Transforming Organizations: Growing Leaders for Tomorrow. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Guarrero, C (1998). The Leadership Challenge. Security Management, Vol. 42 Hall, M (2002). Aligning the Organization to Increase Performance Results. The Public Manager, Vol. 31 Heath, R (1994). Management of Corporate Communication: From Interpersonal Contacts to External Affairs. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ibrahim, H (1996). Leader or Manager? JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 67 Kotter, J (2000). A Force for Change; How Leadership Differs From Management. The Free Press Maundy, L (2001). An Introduction to Human to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Macmillan, Palgrave Minter, S (2000). Safety Manager or Leader? Occupational Hazards, Vol. 62 Newstrom, W (1997). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. McGraw-Hill, New York Rahim, M (2001). Managing Conflict in Organizations. Quorum Books Read More