[Sarkari-Naukri] Harish Sati, The Role of a Manager in an Organisation & The tasks of a leader
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The Role of a Manager in an Organisation |
| A manager in an organisation is not always a leader. Management and leadership are two different concepts, though often appear to overlap. Modern organisations tend to be complex and operate in a global business environment. Therefore, there is renewed focus on the importance of management and leadership and their distinctive roles in promoting and advancing the interests of the organisation. Hard competition and continuous pressures for change demand that managers and leaders work closely together for achieving business goals. On the practical level, a manager is called upon to evince the quality of leadership and a leader the knack for managing difficult situations in their respective roles in any organisation. Pragmatically speaking, then, the distinction between a mana-ger and leader is not problematic. "A mana-ger is often portrayed as a procedural administrator/supervisor—an individual in an organisation with recognized formal authority who plans, coordinates and implements the existing directions of the organisation (Koontz et al, 1986)." A leader, on the other hand, is defined as someone who occupies a position of influence within a group that "extends beyond supervisory responsibility and formal authority" (Vecchio et al. 1994: 504) and is involved in devising new directions and leading followers "to attain group, organisational and societal goals" (Avery 1990: 453). This distinction between the supervisory manager and visionary leader has to be understood in terms of their respective tasks and functions. Dunsford, a management guru, believes that management is concerned with 'efficiency'—with tasks such as coordinating resources and implementing policy, while leadership has to concern itself with 'effectiveness' of making decisions, setting directions and principles, formulating issues and grappling with problems. Katz (1974: 90-102), however, has identified three critical managerial skills and the last two happen to be attributes of competent leadership. These are: technical skills (the ability to perform particular tasks or activities); interpersonal skills (the ability to work well with other people); and conceptual skills (the ability to see the 'big picture'). Modern leadership theory supports an integrated approach to management and leadership. Early work on leadership identified the various styles of leadership based on personal traits and behaviour of an effective leader, such as drive, desire to lead, decisiveness, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, job relevant knowledge (Kirkpatrick and Locke 1991: 48-60). The behaviourist models focused on the relationship between a leader's actions and their impact on the attitudes and performance of employees. These studies compared various styles of leadership, such as authoritarian and democratic styles. They studied if an effective leader was more prone to efficient accomplishment of a task rather than being inclined to the welfare of employees and subordinates. The ideal style, as proposed by Stogdill in 1974, combined the best of both approaches. In later work we find considerations of leadership theory as part of a wider approach to modern management. The traditional distinctions between a manager and leader is disappearing. Modern business operates in the midst of uncertainties as the current global slowdown and enveloping financial crisis show. Accordingly, the role of a manager demands flexibility, dynamism, management skills as well as leadership quality. |
The Tasks of a Leader |
| There are several ways of defining a leader. The one who leads others is a simple and complete definition. But, then, what are the tasks of a leader? Leadership is a much sought after quality and every organisation needs good and effective leaders to lead the organisation to success and for achievement of its goals. Some persons are born leaders, for others leadership gets thrust upon. In a given organisation, the Head of the Organisation or the Chief Executive Officer is accepted as a leader irrespective of his or her possessing the quality of leadership. Management Gurus, more or less, agree on the following tasks for the leader of any organisation, irrespective of its nature and goals: A leader must be able to: (1) impart vision and direction to her/his organisation (2) affirm and articulate values that she/he cherishes for her/his organization (3) set high standards of performance and raise the level of expectations (4) she/he must make herself/himself accountable (5) must be able to motivate others within the organisation (6) achieve unity in the organisation (7) involve others in decision-making. The leader's most important task is to clarify the overall goals of the organisation. This is what transforms a mere crowd into a community, a directionless mob into a group with a purpose. A crowd in a fair, for instance, is joyous, free spirited but selfoccupied. In the same way, a gathering may have individually talented and even highly motivated people but they will achieve nothing if they lack vision or goal to achieve collectively. The success of leadership depends on personal characteristics that include experience, imagination, persuasiveness, farsightedness, and astuteness in inter-personal dealings. The leader will not be able take his/her organisation very far if he is not able to generate, manage and monitor the use of resources. Most organisations have resources available, but seldom are they sufficient for everything that everyone wants to do. Resources do not manage themselves; allocation and monitoring systems have to be established. Budget, timetables, staffing plans, policies, procedures and priorities need to be set and worked out. Empowerment and delegation of authority demands astute handling because human material is not like machines or furniture that can be allocated in a fixed pattern. To select, develop, and share power with subordinates/associates is an art that is not easy to learn or acquire. Winning trust and loyalty of disparate persons can be demanding but is necessary for the task of assigning tasks to others. Decision-making and responsibility need to be dispersed for accomplishing current tasks and preparing others for future leadership. Relations within and outside an organi-sation play an important role and this is yet another essential task for a leader. Building relations and range of contacts require friendliness, wit, wisdom, negotiation skills, and the ability to entertain or at least to hold the attention of a wide range of people. A leader also has to be Enterprising because finding new opportunities and creating desirable change is also his/her task. Every organisation has certain momentum that imparts it continuity yet, obsolescence is a constant challenge for a leader. In large organisations this can require a massive refocusing of people and resources. Leaders are needed at all levels but most people would want to follow rather than lead. Finally, a great leader creates more leaders. Like Gandhi. |
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with warm regards
Harish Sati
Fortune Institute of International Business
Plot no. 5, Vasant Gaon, Rao Tula Ram Marg
Opp. R.R. Army Hospitial, New Delhi- 110057
Mobile No:- 09990646343
E-mail:- Harish.sati@gmail.com
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