Running head: THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 1
Think of the managers you have reported to thus far in your career. Now consider the
people you have worked with or know of that you would consider leaders. Based on these
experiences, what would you surmise about the responsibilities of managers and leaders
and about the distinctions between these two categories in health care settings?
This week’s Learning Resources classify management and leadership (which are often
confused in everyday discussion) and explain their significance for health care
organizations. As you advance professionally, it is critical to understand the distinctions
between management and leadership and how you can apply this knowledge for increasing
effectiveness in your workplace.
To prepare:
�Review the information in the Learning Resources.
�Conduct additional research on your own and select at least two current, credible
sources that contribute to your understanding of management and leadership.
�Reflect on how the roles of management and leadership differ in supporting the
organization to set and achieve goals.
�Drawing upon specific examples from a current or previous practice setting, bring to
mind someone who seemed to be a leader but not a manager and someone who seemed to
be a manager but not a leader (generally speaking, or within a specific circumstance). Be
prepared to support your assessment with specific behavioral descriptions found in the
literature.
Post on or before Day 3 an analysis of how management and leadership roles differ in
terms of supporting an organization to set and achieve goals. In addition, post descriptions
of an individual who demonstrates leadership behaviors but not management behaviors
and an individual who demonstrates management behaviors but not leadership behaviors.
Provide your rationale, identifying specific characteristics of effective managers and
leaders. (Note: Do not identify these individuals by name, position, or location.)
The Distinction Between Leadership and Management
Leadership and management are two important positions in healthcare facility that are
often confused. The roles of a leader as well as that of managers do vary and is important for
employees to understand the distinctions to enhance their service delivery at their respective
working places. Therefore, the paper delineates on these differences.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 2
Leadership and management go hand in hand and complement each other but are not the
same. Managers’ responsibility in healthcare relates to planning, organizing, and coordinating.
Managers ensure that the operations of the health facilities are moving on smoothly. The leaders
are therefore responsible for ensuring that the goals are achieved by coming up with appropriate
strategies to achieve the same (Griffith-Cooper & King, 2007). On the other hand, leaders’
responsibility is to inspire, and to motivate the followers or the members under his/ her role.
A manager administers while a leader innovates. He comes up with creative ideas that
help in transformation of the entity. Managers places more emphasis on the systems and
structure while a leader focuses on the people (Griffith-Cooper & King, 2007). The leaders will
make changes and come up with ideas and solution that concerns people while manager focuses
on the operations of the systems. Another difference of a leader and manager in a health setting
is that they focus on achievement while managers focus on results.
Therefore, leaders in the health are able to motivate and influence others to ensure
effectiveness and success of the entity as well as other members. Managers are more concerned
about control people and directing them to accomplish the goals set.
There are differences between the leaders and the managers that workers should
understand to ensure that they achieve the objectives of an entity. Leaders and managers are very
important in an entity as they contribute immensely in achieving the set goals of the
organization.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 3
References
Griffith-Cooper, B., & King, K. (2007). The partnership between project management and
organizational change: integrating change management with change leadership.
Performance Improvement, 46(1):14-20.