Leadship vs Management Qualities

To achieve success in a project, it is important to have a qualified project manager. The way in which a project is either being led or managed can have a big impact on the outcome of the project. To assess which management techniques work best for a given project, it can be advantageous to understand the difference between managing and leading. Understanding the key differences between management and leadership can help with deciding on what is best suitable for the desired outcome of the project, as well as what fits the interests and personality of the project manager. Besides reflecting on the success of the project, the chosen management style will also reflect on how the team experiences the work process.

The article will be based on the view that a manager is goal-oriented, aiming to achieve goals set by an organization, in contrast to a leader who is people-oriented, as they aim to gather a team around a vision.

The purpose of the article is to dive into the differences and similarities between manager and leadership qualities. The two roles will be assessed on their strengths and weaknesses and discuss what benefits can come from using either or. In addition, it will be discussed how to utilize and combine the best qualities from both of the management styles, to perform and deliver the best possible outcome of a project.

Leadership

Qualities of Leadership

Leadership can be defined as the process of influencing others towards achieving a goal. In other words, leadership means using communication to persuade others, in this case, one’s team, to follow a vision. The vision is set by the leader and can be used as a predefined target, that can be reached by the team, through motivation from the leader. Răducan et. al further emphasize that the most important qualities of a leader are to create balance within the team.(1) Leadership differs from management in the aspect that is more human-oriented rather than goal-oriented. This is reflected in the way a leader achieves their goals, which happens through motivating and engaging with the teams to achieve these goals. Therefore, an important trait for a project leader is communication. To be a good leader, it is important to have qualities such as having a vision, being curious, being able to communicate, emotional intelligence, and accountability. Creating a vision is a powerful way of communicating, as it helps in creating an understanding. This understanding can ease the process of getting one’s team to strive towards the same goals. Emotional intelligence is also an important factor, as research has shown that there is a significant relationship between the ability to be in control of one’s feelings and the outcome of the project. (2: Do projects) A good quality in a leader is empathy, as leadership is about understanding what can drive a team and what can inspire them to continue to strive towards an achievement. The leadership of a project can be assessed based on the following three measurable factors (3).

• Effectiveness
• Satisfaction
• Extra effort

It is possible to measure efficiency by looking at what momentum and growth have been created through teamwork. Quality leadership is reflected in how well the team achieves the predefined goals. Furthermore, it is possible to measure the quality of the leadership by looking at satisfaction within the team, including the satisfaction with the leader and the management of the labor. Finally, progress in the team’s desire to put in an extra effort in creating a valuable and successful project. This equates to employees making an extra effort to achieve their goals in comparison to what is normally measured.

Downfalls of leadership

There are a lot of benefits to using a leadership approach to manage a project, but not performing it properly can have consequences that can have a negative effect on the success of the outcome of the project. When talking about poor leadership, most studies indicate that this is due to personality traits that conflict with the desired qualities of a leader. Toor and Ogulana argue that the negative personal attributes of the leader are what contribute to the ineffectiveness in leadership. Characteristics of an ineffective leader consist of personality traits, such as “self-centered behaviors, wrongful use of power, manipulation, intimidation, coercion, and one-way communication”(4). These may be personality traits already present in a person before entering a leadership role. But it is also seen that the power can go to the head of a leader, where these traits will develop as the power rises. In addition to the consequences poor management can have on the outcome of a project and its success, arguments can be made for more serious consequences. These consequences include, but are not limited to, have shown to have an impact on the mental health of the followers. This manifests itself in the form of lack of interest, low job performance, as well as low self-confidence, in people who are subject to this type of management. This means that it can be directly measurable whether the leadership is effective as it can affect the organization through declining productivity. To avoid leading your team inefficiently, it is therefore important to keep an eye on one’s own motivation and drive. Furthermore, it is possible to keep track of one’s own leadership abilities by being aware of the measurable changes within the team. If it is discovered that team members are losing interest or have a low performance, it can potentially be the management style that is the culprit.

Management

• Downfalls of Leadership
• Downfalls of Management

Application

• How to benefit from using leadershop qualities
• How to benefit from using management qualities

Bibliography

• No More Muddling Through Mastering Complex Projects in Engineering and Management (Rainer Züst and Peter Troxler, 2004)
• Leadership and Management (Radu Răducana , Ramona Răducan 2014)
• Are Leadership and Management Different? A Review Dr. Ali Algahtani 2014
• Ineffective leadership Investigating the negative attributes of leaders and organizational neutralizers (Shamas-ur-Rehman and Stephen Ogunlana, 2009)
• Performance and leadership outcome correlates of leadership styles and subordinate commitment (Kedsuda Limsila and Stephen O. Ogunlana, 2007)