Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 19

Leadership - Essay Example It is quite apparent that a great percentage of people do not comprehend the distinction between leadership and management and therefore use the two terms interchangeably. However, the two terms are different since leadership involves motivating and inspiring while management involves administration and control (Northouse 13). Apparently, Leadership is more desirable than management for various reasons. Research has shown that organisations are better off having a few effective leaders and many brilliant managers than the other way around. Many scholars argue that the world needs more leaders than managers. Leadership is more of a trait than an acquired ability. Management can be taught; that is, anybody can be a manager but not everybody can qualify to be a leader. While a manager focuses on attaining results through the application of managerial skills, a leader focuses on improving the quality of performance rather than results. Leadership and management are, however, similar in the sense that they share complimentary attributes. For instance, a good leader should possess good managerial skills and vice-versa. My biggest strength is the ability to think critically and creatively. Critical and creative thinking forms the basis for effective leadership. The ability to analyse situations and develop effective solutions to common problems develops good leadership skills (Hurley and Brown 2). The objective of applying critical and creative thinking is to approach challenges with an open, holistic perspective. For example, if one is performing poorly financially, he /she should trace the root cause of the problem in order to provide a rational solution, free from any biases. Using inductive and deductive reasoning, which are essential to critical thinking, it is possible to create a systematic approach to the problem. The basic