Use Your Own Words to Discuss the Difference Between Leading and Managing? Describe Main Core Competencies That You Find Essential to Become a "complete" Leader/manager. Is There a Rationale?

The differences between leading and managing can be very difficult only because they have different factors. Managing is basically having the control and authority of a group of people or department. Leading is basically showing the way for a group of people to a certain goal. In the business world, I view a leader as the most powerful of the two. If we can make this in terms of warfare, the Manager is in the back positioning the troops where as the leader is on the battlefield bringing the troops to victory and basically doing all the hard work. Leader's provide a sense of teaching ability that managers aren't able to provide. Leaders provide a more one on one type of approach where as managers give an overlooking approach and expect you to know what you are doing.

For example, at my current job, my supervisor who I consider the leader of the group is able to teach what our department does at ease where as our manager can barely provide any details of what we do. Managers have a certain skill set of just being able to be satisfied with just getting the job done as opposed to being passionate about their work. Leaders have this passion.

What are your job position's requirements for leading and managing functions (use Figure 1)? Compare your findings with your leadership style. Discuss?

To be an effective leader, you have to have communication skills for any individual and the ability to adapt to them. Managers need to have the best skills in organizing the area of where they work and have their employees able to work under them. The difference between leaders and managers show by the way they talk. They are able to provide different meaning to words and the employee on the receiving end would know which individual is which.

According to the questionnaire, I turned out being a Participative Leadership. Unfortunately, in my department, I'm second in command under my supervisor. I provide a leadership skill to my other colleagues to teach and provide them with skills that they don't know. Fortunately for myself, the job market moves forward at such a fast rate that you need to adapt to everything that is brought out to you. I am open to learning from others as well so that we can all have the ideas as opposed to enclosing this in and providing job security for one self. If the whole group can have the same skills, we can provide more to the bottom line and grow to different ideas.

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