The changing nature of management and
leadership
What is management? What do managers do? How is management changing?
This short paper explores some of the ideas around what management is, how it’s
changing and the skills a manager needs in a modern organisation.
A vast amount of literature discussing leadership, management and associated
ideas dates back to before the 1950s and presents a range of models from
behavioural, psychological, or models based on management of tasks.
However, an established consensus is that leadership is complex and different to
management. While it is often unclear what is considered to be effective
leadership, for the purpose of this paper, leadership is considered to be a function
of the fit between leader, followers and situation.
‘Management’ and ‘leadership’ are often used interchangeably, but there are
subtle and important differences between the two. Leadership involves setting a
new direction or vision for a group or organisation which can then be followed.
Management controls or directs people and resources in a group according to
principles or values that have already been established.
Management as art or science?
The philosophy which sits behind your view of management and leadership can
influence the view you take.
A rationally bounded view of life suggests that management relies on a direct
cause and effect relationship. Teams or groups are organised in a particular way
by a manager and this has a direct effect on the outputs of the team. Whilst it
may be comforting to see a direct relationship between a decision made by a
manager and the impact this decision has on a team or organisation, personal
experience generally indicates that management is much more complex and is
often the result of the environment or context within which it operates.
Management is therefore probably both part science and part art. It is the art of
making people more effective than they would have been without you.
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How have views about leadership changed over time ?
When a leader acts as a figure-head without setting any direction, technically this
is not leadership. However, the figure head is often viewed by others as a leader.
For many years the ‘symbolic’ or ‘heroic’ view of leadership held sway. Often
when people are asked to think about effective leaders they mention people like
Gandhi, Nelson Mandela or Winston Churchill.
From the 1960s onwards the concept of the heroic leader has generally declined
and began to be replaced to some extent by theories about ‘trait’ leadership.
The in-born traits people possess were viewed to heavily influence an individual’s
approach to management. This placed a strong emphasis on the personal
characteristics, style and preferences of leaders and managers. This approach is
supported by a range of psychology based instruments for understanding the
traits of individuals such as Myers Briggs, ‘The Big Five’ test and KAI. All of these
aimed to provide managers with a better understanding of their natural traits or
styles and the influence this had on their approach to managing.
Over the last ten years or so the trait/style concept of leadership has itself come
under pressure by the emergence of the concept of the ‘transformational
leader’. Academics like Bernard Bass and Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe have been at
the forefront of research into the transformational skill set required by managers in
the ever changing workplace. The growing need to adapt to change, deal with
complex interrelated problems, work across traditional boundaries and move
away from hierarchical organisational structures has put new pressures on
managers.
What do we mean by the transformational leader ?
The concept of the transformational leader is focused on a skill set which
emphasises issues such as vision building, developing and nurturing staff, building
relationships, partnership working and networking.
The nature of the public sector has changed significantly since the election of the
Labour government in 1997. The pressure for rapid modernisation of services,
democratic renewal and improved efficiency has lead to a growing emphasis on
the provision of joined up solutions to complex public sector problems, greater
emphasis on value for money and for managers to deal with widespread and
seemingly ever present change.
The growing importance of change
management and the skills managers need to bring to bear to deliver this
change effectively has lead to a wider reflection of what it means to be a
manager.
Similarly, in the private sector organisations hierarchies are becoming flatter and
there is increased partnership working to identify solutions to problems there has
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almost been an increasingly important role for more informal leaders.
Researchers like Michael Lipsky recognised the crucial role played by less senior
staff who he described as ‘street level bureaucrats’.
These are the people nearer to the implementation of decisions but often quite
distant from senior managers. They play a strong role in interpreting how
management decisions can be implemented on the ground and are vital in
translating policy into action. Unfortunately for senior managers they also play a
strong role in interpreting management ideas or decisions to suit their own visions
and this weakens the direct ‘command and control’ approach of a traditional
manager. So, maybe time is up for the traditional view of a manager working in a
hierarchical organization taking a ‘command and control’ approach?
What sort of skills are we talking about ?
There is no agreed position on what makes up the skill set of a manager or leader
in the modern working environment. However, reflecting on the changing nature
of leadership and some of the challenges around working across traditional team
or organisational boundaries etc provides some insight into the kinds of skills
demanded of modern managers. These can include:
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Challenging existing processes – searching for opportunities, exploring
options and experimenting
Providing an inspiring vision – building a vision which the team/organisation
can ‘buy in to’
Enabling others to act – empowering others and fostering collaboration
between individuals and teams
Communicating – being an active listener and supporting two-way
communication
Building partnerships – being open to working across boundaries and
developing networks
Nurturing others – building an effective team and developing a supportive
developmental culture
The role of reflection
The pace of modern organisations often leaves little room for managers to
evaluate the effectiveness of their actions or to consider how things can improve
for next time or how they can develop their own skills.
Donald Schon’s seminal writings on the value of being a ‘reflective practitioner’
emphasis the value in taking time out during projects and at the end of work to
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consider your own actions and where you can improve. Management gurus
have long stressed the role reflection plays in self improvement (see for example
David Kolb’s experiential learning cycle).
Considering the impact of actions through concrete experience, trying out new
ideas, reflecting and learning from this reflection can be a strong route into
systematically pushing the manager out of their comfort zone, trying new things
and learning from this experience.
Does all this matter – the devil’s advocate view
One of the most respected management thinkers of the last fifty years – Henry
Mintzberg – was keen to point out that the vast majority of managers were not
logic, structured, rational thinkers and planners. His research in the 60s and 70s
pointed to the fact that a large proportion of managers often base their decisions
and actions on intuition, hunches and gut feelings.
It’s important not to underestimate the role such apparently irrational approaches
do play. Every manager has a different style or preference for the way they
make decisions and it’s important to understand not only your own preference
but those of more senior managers or leaders within your organisation. A logical,
structured, rational approach to decisions is not the only way.
The nature of complex problems experienced by managers nowadays calls for a
more iterative approach to exploring problems and solutions. The role played by
personal experience and judgement should not be underestimated.
Some personal challenges
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What do you think is your own style of leadership and that of your team or
organisation?
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What role do you think the culture of your organisation has on your
approach to management?
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What would you identify as your own management strengths and areas for
future improvement?
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How do you know if you have an accurate view of your own management
skills?
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Finding out more
Marshall Sashkin (2001) ‘A new vision of leadership’, in ‘Contemporary issues in
leadership’, Westview Press
Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe (2004) ‘Leadership in public sector organisations’ in John
Storey’s ‘Leadership in organisations’, Routledge
Bernard Bass (1990) ‘
Daniel Goleman (2001) ‘What makes a leader’, Harvard Business Review
Michael Lipsky (1983) ‘Street level bureaucracy’, Russell Sage
Donald Schon (1983) ‘The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in
action’, Basic Books
Henry Mintzberg (1978) ‘Patterns in strategy formulation’, Management Science
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