Difference Between Leadership and Management
Because of seemingly similar areas that the phenomena of leadership and management concern, the identified notions are often conflated. However, even though the specified concepts might seem very close to each other, there is a large gap between them. Leadership and management differ significantly in the goals that are set in the specified areas, as well as the vision and the roles that team members play. However, what makes leadership especially far from the idea of management is the scope. While management positions performance and output as the key areas of its scope, people are the primary concern of leadership (Oztuna, 2017). Consequently, the roles of a leader and a manager differ significantly in the goals that they pursue.
Transformational Leaders as a Part of the Restructuring Process
As stressed above, management mostly centers around the notions of performance and output, thus viewing a steep rise in performance results as the key objective. Leadership, in turn, is aimed at motivating and inspiring people. In other words, leadership implies changing team members’ attitudes toward their mission and helping them shape their vision of their professional growth.
Because of the necessity to alter people’s mindset and motivate them to improve their performance results, transformational leadership is viewed as one of the core tools for enhancing the efficacy of employees’ performance. By definition, transformational leadership implies altering staff or team members’ attitudes toward their job and responsibilities, hence the name. Furthermore, the transformational leadership framework creates an environment in which staff members will be eager to acquire new skills on a regular basis. As a result, they will be capable of meeting increasingly high standards in the realm of the global economy.
Herein the benefits of transformational leadership for the process of restructuring lie. In contrast to other leadership approaches, which are focused primarily on the performance of a team, the transformational framework allows considering the long-term perspective. As a result, a leader receives an opportunity to invest in employees and team members, encouraging them to grow and develop new skills and abilities (Field & Brown, 2016). Therefore, transformational leadership is crucial to the successful completion of a restructuring process and the subsequent institutionalization of change.
Micromanagement as a “Trap”
The concept of micromanagement is relatively new to the contemporary business environment, yet it has already gained significant attention due to the challenges and risks that it contains. The subject matter can be defined as the propensity among managers to embrace every single facet of a team’s performance and the subsequent loss of control over the overall management of a team. Handling an array of minor challenges might seem like a sensible step to take in the environment that requires addressing every possible risk, yet the outcomes of the specified decision may be drastic. Particularly, by paying close attention to minor management concerns and dispersing their attention in a wide range of directions, managers will eventually fail to encourage a team to explore and fulfill their potential (Avolio & Yammarino, 2017). Therefore, micromanagement should be seen as a negative phenomenon and, consequently, has to be avoided.
Among the strategies that can be used to avoid micromanaging, one may use the focus on independence as one of the qualities that must be fostered in employees. Staff members have to develop the ability to make important decisions in the environment of an organization. Therefore, providing them with a chance to participate in the management of some of the issues associated with performance, quality control, communication, etc. will help a manager avoid the micromanagement trap. As a result, a platform for the successful delivery of the expected results can be built. Furthermore, the empowerment of the staff will lead to the enhancement of their independence and the following focus on their professional growth.
References
Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino., F. J. (2017). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Emerald Group Publishing.
Field, R., & Brown, K. (2016). Effective leadership, management and supervision in health and social care. New York, NY: Learning Matters.
Oztuna, A. (2017). Leadership, management, administratorship. New York, NY: FriesenPress.