Question

1. What do you believe are the top five characteristics of a good leader?  What are the top five for a good manager? Discuss the similarities and differences between a manager and a leader. 

2. In what ways would transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles be ineffective in encouraging organizational commitment?

3. How might leadership style need to change with an organization's environment?

Answer 1

1. Top five characteristics of a good leader include power, vision, good communication, integrity and decision making capability. A leader can effectively influence the followers when the leader has some power. Subordinates may not follow the words when the leader does not possess any power. The leader should be able to create vision for the followers and communicate that vision. A good leader should be able to inspire the followers through his words and motivate them to achieve the vision set. Followers would respect and trust the leader when the leader values integrity. A good leader should also have good decision making capability because followers expect the leader to make decisions in most of the situations.

Top characteristics of a good manager also include integrity, decision making skills and communication. Other two characteristics required for a good manager are delegation and sense of responsibility in my opinion. A manager should be honest in their life to influence the subordinates. A manager may have to make crucial decisions in work and effective communication is very important to get the jobs done. Delegation is also an important character in my opinion because managers need to manage the work with the limited resources provided and the work needs to be delegated to the subordinates to ensure on time completion. A manager needs to take care of the needs of both management and the employees. Hence a good manager should have a sense of responsibility towards the top management as well as the subordinates.

The similarity between managers and leaders include that both needs to influence a group of people to get the job done. A manager also should have leadership skills to become an effective manager. Both leaders and managers help the organization to achieve its vision. Both managers and leaders get things done by motivating the subordinates or the followers. The difference between leader and manger is that a good manager should be a good leader but a good leader may not be a good manager. When leaders are focused on inspiring the followers, managers are focused on getting the job done through monitoring and controlling the resources. Leaders create vision for the followers but managers guide the subordinates on how to achieve the vision. A manager is required to organize the resources and delegate the authority and responsibility to accomplish the planned objectives but a leader try to direct the followers through words and ensure their cooperation to achieve the goals.

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