Workplace Management Claire Agwu 2011 Social Care BA

Workplace Management
Leadership Skills and management Skills
The leadership of change requires both leadership and management skills. It is therefore useful to review the fundamental differences between management leadership. While management is mostly about maintaining the status quo, leadership is about creating the future (Macmillan et al, 2000)

Basic management principles remain the same regardless of the organisational context universally, the same rules and regulations are followed by all managers across the world. The basic functions of a manager within the workplace are to plan, organise, control and direct staff. A managers role is to ensure that an organisation runs effectively, has a routine and that tasks are delegated to the right personnel. A manager in real terms is responsible for most day to day running of an organisation and the implementation of staff and their roles within the workplace. (Macmillan et al, 2000)

The role of leader requires both the skills of a leader and of manager. Research has suggested that a manager is more strategic in their approach and a leader tends to approach tasks from a more personal level. Leaders are more often than not above managers in the workplace and may hold the title of director in a staff hierarchy. (Macmillan et al, 2000) "Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They have a preference for innovation." (www.see.ed.ac.uk, 2011)

Workplace Management Claire Agwu 2011 Social Care BA The main differences between a manager and a leader are that although their basic roles are very similar their fundamental actions may be completely different in rational. A manager often does everything by the book and follows company policy and procedures, whereas a leader will often bring new ideas and plans to the organisation and take risks. These ideas are often to bring about change which will in effect bring in more revenue overall and allow the organisation to run more effectively. Managers are usually staff that have worked their way up to managers position within an organisation and have a thorough understanding of the how their workplace runs on a daily basis. A leader in contrast to a manger remains very much behind the scenes, implementing ways for the organisation to be successful and churning out ideas in order to for this to happen, which then gets delegated out to a manager to perform.

"Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing." (www.see.ed.ac.uk, 2011)

Workplace Management Claire Agwu 2011 Social Care BA References Macmillan et al, 2000 Strategic management Oxford University Press Oxford Belbin, M, Management Teams Why they succeed or fail Third Ed 2010 Elsevier Ltd oxford Pardey, D, 2004, Leading Teams, ILM Staffs