More Than a Manager a Leader Term Paper

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Manager: A Leader

Leaders and business managers are valued commodity in the workplace. A leader is someone who can offer a compelling invitation for others to take action, while managers manage and accomplish work through others. Leaders lead and motivate people to higher levels, often giving people purpose to what they do, while managers tend to be more mechanical and provide authority based on the administrative level.

Today's leader needs a multitude of characteristics including an ability to develop a vision, and an ability to articulate that vision. Some of the traits of leaders are honesty, energy, a thirst for learning and commitment.

Vision in regards to the leader refers to visualizing a future state. The leader has a clear picture of what the future looks like. Moreover, a leader has a clear picture of achieving that vision (Godin, 11). In addition, an effective leader must also be able to communicate that vision to others. Without an ability to communicate what that future state is, others cannot help the leader to achieve it. Leaders recognize first and foremost that it is only through the efforts of others that work is accomplished.

Some of the personal traits of effective leaders are that they are honest in dealing with others. This includes being fair with a good sense of right and wrong. In the broadest sense of the word, these leaders are honest in their views of the world. The perceptive leaders also possess a great deal of energy. This means working at an exceptionally high energy level. The excitement of the work and enthusiasm keep the leader going and able to sustain the necessary high energy level. Commitment is also an essential quality in the effective leader. Commitment helps others to see the vision.

Finally, the great leader has a thirst for knowledge that drives everything that is done. That is, the perceptive leader recognizes the value of knowledge and understands that learning is a life-long process (Weathersby, 5).

In contrast, Managers often rely on their legitimate power or the authority by very virtue of their position in the organization.

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Leaders rely on other sources of power to accomplish their work. Managers follow specific rules and are comfortable with bureaucracy. That can also mean that managers are more reactive and stay within the organizational boundaries.

Organizations need both managers and leaders. Managers are the people who have the legitimate authority and corresponding responsibility in the organization. However, leaders inspire the people for doing their best in the organization. Managers need to be cognizant of the fact that being a manager does not automatically imply being a leader (Colvard, 82). A manager must consciously work to develop leadership characteristics. Being a manager in today's organizations is not enough. To contribute to the organization, the manager must also be a leader.

In other words, management and leadership are not the same thing. The two are related, but their central functions are different. Managers provide leadership, and leaders perform management functions. But managers do not perform the unique functions of leaders. Becoming a leader requires understanding oneself (Colvard, 82). There are various tools available to help with that assessment. According to (Colvard, 82), the following are the key differences between leaders and managers:

Leaders look to celebrate the successes of their followers as often as possible. They recognize, reward, and praise their people frequently. Second, effective leaders are trustworthy, as creating a foundation of trust encourages commitment among the employees. Third, leaders are ready to provide the required training to assure that their followers are prepared for their jobs and responsibilities. They encourage collective….....

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