Eportfolio

Eportfolio

After the classes we have had, I have certainly learned a lot. I have always been hearing many cases of people wanting to employed as managers until I learned the other day that it would not be a very prudent choice. This is based on the understanding that being a manager is indeed good. Still, certainly, it would always be better for someone to stand out and ask for the need to be a leader that leads the team of employees as opposed to being a manager whose sole role is to give orders to expect them to implement. I have learned that leadership transcends from just being political or social-based issues but also applies to some of the small things that many may not see as being important. Even though I am aware that the title “manager” sounds fancy, there is more to life than just a fancy title. This is one of the reasons why it may not be lucrative in terms of how one is called, but being a leader is indeed huge, even though it is not an end in itself.

I have learned the need to handle people effectively and make them a priority instead of merely focusing on the goals and objectives. The course has been a great eye-opener on matters of people skills as well as the need for effective decision making as a fair leader if someone wants to be able to deliver on their mandate. There is a need for people to understand that it is not about the force that one exerts on others that makes them work but the effective communication and understanding that one uses in his or her ways of dealing with other people. There is a need for a proper way of handling things, and this can only be achieved if those in power change from being managers to being leaders. The team should always come first.

Upon reviewing a series of documents that were used in the semester, it led to the establishment of a particular trend that is indeed clear and visible. The trend is one that highlights the key differences that exist between the leader and a manager. It is evident, based on the many assumptions that are done to state that many people have not been able to appreciate the existing difference between the leaders and managers. Even though they all appear to mean almost the same function that is discharged by almost similar people, there is a huge difference between the two. One of the key differences that exist between the two is how the two operate. For the managers, they are mainly interested in the scheduling of work. All they need to know is that the work was done. The managers are hardly interested in knowing what the long term future of the organization will be when it comes to how the organization works. On the other hand, the leaders are mostly oriented towards the building of teams for the purpose of long term prosperity.

Most managers tend to simply delegate tasks without really worrying at the impact of such tasks on the team. They majorly look at the short term gains in that as long as the tasks have been delegated and worked on, they do not care about the long term effects of the teams they have on the performance of the organization in the long term. As long as the results appeal to their targets and expectations, then they will assume that everything is okay even when the employee turnover is extremely high. On the other hand, the leaders are not just concerned with the tasked being completed, but instead, they very interested in ensuring that things are effectively done; hence they will be keen on evaluating performance, analyzing the weaknesses of the team as well as giving feedback where necessary. This is key in ensuring that there are improvements in the team instead of simply getting things done regardless of how effective that puns out.

The managers are very analytical in that all the preference is to use the analytical data to support the recommendations set. They all concerned with the need to have predictability as well as the ability to co-ordinate the resources (Taylor & Drea). All they are very interested in seeing what they can give directions on what should be done and how it should be done. It has been established that most of the managers are so interested in the process and emulating their roles as the key people to guide the rest of the team regardless of what the cost or impact will be. They are majorly about getting the returns they anticipate hence the reason they are willing to do everything in this line of approach all in the name of getting the desired results. In simple terms, the managers are mainly about giving or allocating tasks and supervising them. They are all about the rationale that is used, making plans, and implementing them. The focus is basically about the need to monitor some of the tasks that they have allocated and then to see them accomplished.

On the other hand, leaders usually have a different approach. The main focus is empowerment and the need to work with people in achieving the tasks as opposed to simply allocating the tasks and supervising them. It is clear that as opposed to simply supervising tasks, the leaders will motivate the employees and give them a reason to work hard. This will mean that the focus of the employees will be doing the job themselves without being supervised. This is indeed key based on the fact that all they focus on is the need for consistency as well as the long term effect of the decisions made or the approach taken in line with the need to make the employees happy (George, 169). The leaders will always offer things such as training to the employees as well as development opportunities so that these employees may be motivated enough to deliver their best. It is not about supervision for them to be able to work, but instead, it is majorly about ensuring that people can deliver high-quality work under no duress. This is the reason there is usually lower staff turnover in organizations that are being managed by a leader, but it is extremely high when in those under the managers.

The management is mainly about the planning, budgeting, and allocation of resources. The staff has to be organized and delegated accordingly. There is a lot of monitoring, as well as the creation of the systems that are effective in achieving the goals. Management is mainly anchored on the immediate as well as short term success. On the other hand, leadership is about the creation of a vision that can be shared by the employees. It is about informing the employees why they have to do what they do daily. Leadership is about giving the employees a sense of direction by aligning the goals and objectives of the organization with their own goals so that in their quest to meet their own goals, they also enable the organization to meet its goals. It is for this reason that leaders place a lot of value on motivation. The motivation is indeed huge, more so in challenging jobs. Instead of tormenting the employees with unrealistic targets, the leaders will be able to come up with a model that will encourage the employees to deliver on their mandate without feeling that they are being harassed.

To effectively be able to deliver on their mandate, there is a raft of skills that such a manager would want for them to be able to transform themselves into leaders. Some of these skills will include competence, trustworthiness, energy, people skills, focus, a judgment as well as focus. The leader will need the energy for them to be able to bring about the right attitude to the job. This is key in that it reenergizes the employees that may be tired or demotivated. On the aspect of people skills, it is necessary that the leader has to get along well with the rest of the team. This is arguably one of the biggest challenges that most of the managers have. To them, it is just a matter of giving orders regardless of how people feel and think. The managers hardly care about how the employees perceive their decisions. There is a need for them to be able to effectively laisse with people if they have to work out several things effectively. The leaders should equally be able to focus by concentrating on the long term goals they have managed to set. This is to means they should not be all about reacting to the changes in the market that happen daily but instead be able to deliver what they had planned.

There is a need for a fusion of both long term and short term goals when it comes to planning. Judgment is indeed a key aspect that cannot be downplayed. There are usually times when the decision of the leader influences the wellbeing of the whole organization (Watkins, Pg 23). It may be a simple decision, but there is a need for it to be through so that the conclusions arrived at being ones that can be able to bind both parties as well as motivate people to work extra hard. This is usually the case when it comes to issues such as making sacrifices. The decision on whether to realign the team or take a new strategic approach that may lead to loss of jobs are some of the key decisions that leaders should be able to pronounce themselves so that it is clear and known rather than living by the fence hoping things will change automatically.

Conclusion

In light of the above analysis as well as the review of the texts throughout the course, it is indeed fair that we appreciate that there two views or perspectives when it comes to management. If I was to be asked which one the two I would like to be part of, I am very certain of what my mind would have selected as the option. I am very certain that I would always prefer to be the leader whose focus is the people I am working with as opposed to putting too much pressure on getting the results than in the long run to lose the results as well as the people. There is a need to ensure that people work as leaders in every capacity they are given. They should be able to establish what should be done right for the accurate view of things that do not affect any party they are working with. Being a leader presents a case where one would be very impressed to be someone in a position to motivate, encourage as well as give employees a reason as to why they need to give their all as opposed to being more a bully who simply gives orders and expects the orders to be implemented regardless of the consequences it may have on the teamwork.