I was in a job interview today and one topic was about managerial and leadership abilities and defining them. In Finnish language there is the possibility to mix these terms. The Finnish word "johtaminen" typically means more managerial aspects than leadership, while "johtajuus" commonly refers to leadership. One other way is to combine management and leadership under "johtaminen". Maybe it could be called "managementship" or something. (I use the word "esimiestehtävät", which roughly translates to "managerial responsibilities".)
I tend to categorize management as "organizing things". That is making plans, scheduling work, writing down task requirements etc. Leadership is more "people oriented" approach, like handling emerging situations in a workplace and taking note on peoples strengths and weaknesses.
It can be quite difficult, even impossible to differentiate these views. Managerial decisions can be made with good leadership, for example team's most outgoing and assertive person takes care of all client meetings. It can be the other way around: decisions are also made purely based on organizations needs and these have to be explained and communicated to the actual people in the organization. Moreover, leadership is taking care of the humanity in the work. People are not robots. People experience things. People have irrational emotions and actions that are not always explained. A good leader can respond to these "irregularities" in the day-to-day work flow.
Summa summarum, management and leadership are not separate entities. They have lot of overlapping and correspondence between them. A good Boss makes things happen according to external and internal requirements, with every participant's (including the Boss) capabilities.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment