Managers and Leaders

Many people think that managers and leaders are one in the same and in a lot of ways they are but the responsibilities are different and important to the success of the business in which they are employed. Effective and successful leaders establish a direction for collective effort and then manage, shape, and develop the collective efforts in accordance with this direction. (Johnson & Johnson (2009) pg.178) Learning how to lead is the first step to developing management traits. It is necessary before one can effectively manage. Even though leadership and management are a lot a like there are differences that separate the two. Understanding the importance of both, and realizing their difference is important to successfully running a business.

Managers and Leaders

Both managers as well as leaders are hired to lead, in most cases their job description is one that somewhere states that leading is a required part of the job, but a “Managers” title does not make one a leader. Leadership and Management are crucial to individual and organizational success in today's challenging global environment. Leaders conceive and initiate strategies that create and sustain competitive differentiation and advantage. (http://bettermanagement.com/topic/default.aspx?f=1268) There are a lot of different qualities that a leader should have. One in particular is ethics. One should have not only good work ethics but moral ethics as well. A leader should be honest, trustworthy, fair and a good person morally. Most leaders that are successful at their jobs are those that the other employees look up to and strive to be like. If the other employees are disgusted by the sight of their leader, because they have none of those qualities, then the progress of their responsibilities isn’t going to be something that those in higher positions are going to be proud of.

Communication competence is necessary for organizational excellence. Knowledge, sensitivity, skills, and values must all...