Leadership

Introduction

The existence of a difference between leadership and management is a controversial issue that has drawn different views from different scholars. Some argue that although management and leadership are inseparable, the two activities are not synonymous (Bass, 2010). They are complementary systems of an organization’s activities. John P. Kotter, an academic scholar, explains the role of management; budgeting and scheduling, controlling, staff management and resolving issues that may arise in an organization. Kotter further argues that leadership entails developing organizational vision and motivating individuals within the organization to execute their chores. Motivation is mainly done by empowering them through aspired fulfillment of needs. In addition, leadership helps in lining up shared visions with communication (Kotter, 2013). Another scholar, Lunenburg, explains the importance of an organization having an effective structure that coordinates leadership and management. This coordination enables smooth running of an organization (Lunenburg, 2011).

The above and many more arguments on the difference between leaders and managers have led to a conclusion that a leader has a greater role in the success of any company or organization than a manager.

One such great leader in the history is Jack Welch; the Chief Executive Officer and chairman of the most flourishing organization; General Electric. His career with General Electric started in 1960 and became the Organization’s Eighth Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1981( Welch, J & Welch, 2008). His 20-year reign at General Electric (GE) saw the organization’s market capitalization rise from $13 billion to $400 billion. In addition, the revenue grew tremendously from $27 billion to $125 billion and earnings grew tenfold close to $14 billion. He recreated GE; changing an unproductive company into an upwardly mobile behemoth that not only provides mortgages and runs a TV network but also sells...