Key Principles of Management and Leadership Free Essays

Unit 1 – Key principles of management and leadership Activity 1 a) Though the two terms seem similar on the surface, in reality they are quite different. A great manager does not necessarily make a great leader, and a great leader does not necessarily make a great manager. Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. We will write a custom essay sample on Key Principles of Management and Leadership or any similar topic only for you Order Now Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i. e. : a leader is the spearhead for that new direction. The manager uses a formal, rational method whilst the leader uses passion and stirs emotions. People naturally and willingly follow leaders due to their charisma and personality traits, whereas a manager is obeyed due to the formal authority vested in him/her. As a result, people tend to be more loyal towards leaders rather than managers. Managers supervise employees. They make plans, delegate responsibilities, and coordinate activities. Their goal is to create something that is definable and repeatable. Leaders are focused on bringing about innovation and change for the company. Their primary role is to inspire people and to motivate employees. They are focused on change. They create a sense of vision, hope, and alignment among employees. An organisation cannot thrive without a manager, and it cannot thrive without a leader. Leadership and management must go hand in hand to be successful – both in corporate and casual settings. They are linked, and complimentary to one another. Managers will:Leaders will: AdministrateInnovate MaintainDevelop Focus on systems and/or structuresFocus on people Rely on their controlInspire trust in people Hold short range viewsHave a longer range perspective Ask ‘how’ and ‘when’Ask ‘what’ and ‘why’ Keep an eye on the bottom lineKeep an eye on the horizon ImitateOriginate Accept the status quoChallenge it Be a classic good soldierBe his/her own person Accept realityInvestigate it b) Management encompasses 5 functions which are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. Planning – Planning gives management the ability to logically come up with different strategies to make sure that the project ends in success. The term for generating plans of action can be for immediate, short term, medium term and long term periods. If management does not implement a plan the only plan that he can guarantee is a poor performance. Organising – In order to make sure that the plan is a success management have to make sure things within the company and the plan are properly organised. This is where management can divide, coordinate and control the task and information within the organisation. Assigning work and granting authority are 2 important elements of organising. Staffing – Now that the structure is properly put together, management needs to have employee’s to carry out the plan. This is also known as human resource management. In this concept management will be devoted to properly acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating their employee’s. Employees are what give a company a competitive edge. Management must ensure that the right number of and kind of employees are placed at the right places and at the right time when the organisation is in need of them. Directing – This is the ability to get employee’s to achieve the goals of the company in the most effective and optimal way. Leading, motivating, communication and coordination are the elements that come under directing. Directing is about guiding and leading the people in an organisation. Controlling – This is the process that ensures whether the resources are obtained and used efficiently in achieving the organisational objectives. This function will be the last task that management will do. This will allow the ability to check the performance of the employee’s to make sure it correlates with the input (plan) and output (performance). For this reason, that is why controlling function of management is closely linked with the planning function. ) It is the requirement of a team leader to achieve objectives set by management for a team. However, since the team leader cannot meet these objectives on their own, it will be required for the team leader to lead or manage a team to achieve success using the skills of the team. The team’s objectives will be those of the team leader. The team will consist of a number of individuals each working to achieve their own objectives, based on ea ch individual’s particular skills, knowledge and expertise. This breaking down into specific tasks will contribute to the overall achievement of the objectives of the team. With this in mind a team leader must know their staff, but it is equally important that the staff know the team leader. A leader must know how to build and nurture such a team. A good leader knows when to be a leader and when to be a follower. Good leaders are good followers when that’s what is needed. Other skills that the team leader will need to possess are: Integrity. Having strong internal guiding principles that one does not compromise. It means treating others as you would wish to be treated. Integrity promotes trust, and not much is accomplished without trust. Leading by example. Innovation and vision. Welcoming new tasks and new ways of doing things. Having a clear idea where his or her organisation and/or unit are going in the long term. Communication. Leaders need to learn to be proficient in both the communication that informs and seeks out information and the communication that connects interpersonally with others. Being able to listen well, explain things clearly, ask questions and be aware of what people really think and feel (not what they may say). Relationships. A leader who likes dealing with people issues, who can initiate and deepen relationships with others, has a great leadership advantage. This is a leader who can build a team and achieve impressive results. This can help with the ability to motivate others. Getting people to do things because they want to and not because they are told to. Persuasion. The ability to influence others and cause them to move in a particular direction is a highly important skill in leadership. A leaders ability to be persuasive is directly related to how much people trust you and how good your communication and relationships are. Adaptability. Adaptability and flexibility in not being bound by a plan are important success factors. A leader must move easily from one set of circumstances (the plan) to the next (the plan is not going as expected) and take them all in stride, even when the circumstances are unexpected. A good leader has to embrace change and see it as opportunity. Coaching and self-development. Developing others is an important role for a leader. Encouraging others to expand their capabilities and take on additional assignments is part of a leader’s responsibility. Leaders who feel threatened by the capabilities of others are generally challenged in this area. This coincides with being interested in what people think and feel. Self-development and expanding one’s own capabilities inspires trust and respect from the team which also goes hand in hand in developing others. Decision-making. A leader must be able to wade through information, comprehend what’s relevant, make a well-considered decision, and take action based on that decision. Making decisions too quickly or too slowly will impede leadership effectiveness. Planning. Planning involves making certain assumptions about the future and taking actions in the present to positively influence that future. Planning means to focus more strategically. Although important for guidance and focus, plans are rarely rigid. d) My job as a Senior Support Worker is to provide support to the Registered Manager and lead a small team of support staff in the day to day running of the unit in line with the company’s objectives. I am responsible for ensuring all Service Users who reside at the unit receive high quality, person centred support. I provide support, coaching and mentoring to team members. I am responsible for preparing, maintaining and supporting team members in the updating of care plans. I ensure good working practices are established and maintained. I have to observe a proactive approach to achieving a positive, engaging, promotional and relationship building role with Local Authorities and all other stakeholders. e) * I give support, educate and manage the staff team on a day to day basis and through bi-monthly supervision. * I am responsible for the deployment and control of appointments on a day to day basis, plus the allocation of certain appointments to specific team members. I support the running of the home to achieve real, individualised care packages for the Service Users. * I promote effective team working, to maintain good communications systems, including hand over’s, log books, supervision and staff meetings. * I assist the manager in identifying training and development needs for the staff team and to help facilitate these needs. * I review, mo nitor and fulfil health and safety responsibilities to ensure a safe working environment for yourself, colleagues and the Service Users. I support and maintain effective working relationships with all other staff and to promote good relationships with local residents and the general community. * I have a positive, hardworking attitude and remain committed to the ethos of Reed Care Homes Ltd. * I provide a positive working role model for other colleagues and Service Users, with reference at all times to the company’s equal opportunities policy and the recognition of each person unique racial, cultural and religious needs. * I assist the Registered Manager in the recruitment of new team members and complete inductions. I provide cover for the Registered Manager in their absence. * I maintain professional knowledge and skills through training and a commitment to continuous professional development. f) In 1997 John Adair developed a model of leadership training based on three ove rlapping circles that are involved in any leadership situation. If you look closely at matters involving leadership, there are always three elements or variables: * the leader – qualities of personality and character * the situation – partly constant, partly varying the group – the followers: their needs and values. There are three areas of overlapping need which are centrally important which are related to task, group maintenance and the individual. Task – The reason a group of people come together to perform a task is because the task is too big for one person. A range of knowledge and skills are required and these will not be found in one person. Group maintenance – Many of the formal or informal rules and procedures of the group are designed to promote unity and to maintain cohesiveness at all costs. There is a feeling that good relationships are essential towards a shared goal. This need to create and promote group cohesiveness is called group maintenance. Individual – Individuals bring into groups their own needs, for eg, recognition; a sense of fulfilment, status, and what Adair terms as the deeper needs to give to and receive from other people in a working situation. Adair believes that these individual needs are more profound than we sometimes realise. These needs may attract us or repel us from any given group. The three areas of need overlap and influence one another. If the common task is achieved, then that tends to build the team and to satisfy personal human needs in the individual. If there is a lack of cohesiveness in the team circle, a failure of team maintenance, then clearly performance in the task area will be impaired and the satisfaction of individual members reduced. In order to achieve the common task and to maintain teamwork, certain functions have to be performed. Adair’s three circles model emphasises the importance of distinguishing the individual from the group. It is fundamental that each of the circles must always be seen in relation to the other two. A leader must always be aware of what is happening in relation to the team in terms of the three circles. In 1993 Charles Handy pointed out that it is unlikely that there will ever be a situation where there is a perfect match between the need of the individual, the group and the task. The leader’s job is to be aware of the tension and to manage it. A leader must maintain some distance, as they are responsible and accountable for: * Achievement of the common task Ensuring the group work as a team * Facilitating the development of the individuals Leaders need to interact with others whose support they need in order to accomplish goals. To gain their support, leaders must be able to understand and motivate them. To understand and motivate people, leaders must know human nature. Human nature is the common qualities of all human beings. People behave according to certain principles of huma n nature. Human needs are an important part of human nature and leaders must understand these needs because they can be powerful motivators. In 1970 Maslow felt that human needs were arranged in a hierarchical order and that the basic needs must be met before the higher order needs in the form of 5 levels: 5. Self-actualization — knows exactly who you are, where you are going, and what you want to accomplish. A state of well-being. 4. Esteem — feeling of moving up in world, recognition, few doubts about self. 3. Belongingness and love — belong to a group, close friends to confide with. 2. Safety — feels free from immediate danger. 1. Physiological — food, water, shelter, sex. Maslow deemed that people want and are forever striving to meet various goals. Because the lower level needs are more immediate and urgent, then they come into play as the source and direction of a person’s goal if they are not satisfied. A need higher in the hierarchy will become a motive of behaviour as long as the needs below it have been satisfied. Unsatisfied lower needs will dominate unsatisfied higher needs and must be satisfied before the person can climb up the hierarchy. Leaders knowing where a person is located on the pyramid will aid in determining effective motivators. Almost no one stays in one particular hierarchy for an extended period. We constantly strive to move up, while at the same time various forces outside our control try to push us down. The goal as a leader is to help people obtain the skills and knowledge that will push them up the hierarchy on a more permanent basis. People who have their basic needs met become much better workers as they are able to concentrate on fulfilling the visions put forth to them, rather than consistently struggling to make ends meet. How to cite Key Principles of Management and Leadership, Papers