Management Is Doing Things Right; Leadership Is Doing The Right Things Essay

Management Is Doing Things Right; Leadership Is Doing The Right Things - Essay Example His distinction between management and leadership has been a popular topic for debate for several years now.Leadership acts as a tool in settling on the best course of action to take- what are the things that should be done to reach our targets? But according to Drucker’s philosophy, leadership is strong and successful when the leader thinks through questions like ‘Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me? By ‘doing the right things’, he meant that effective leadership is considering the company’s mission, describing it and openly establishing it. It is a leader’s job to set clear goals for the company and define the standards needed to be maintained while achieving the goals. Being aware that he is not in control of the universe, he has to make compromises. This, however, he does once he has thought of the right and the desirable. Drucker defines leadership as mundane, unromantic and boring. Its essence lies in perf ormance. Effective leaders keep on checking their performance against the achievement of their goals. This practice helps them to analyse their choices and decide on what is important and needs immediate attention. It also assists them in identifying their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses. Regarding this, Drucker says: ‘I have seen a great many people who are exceedingly good at execution, but exceedingly poor at picking the important things. They are magnificent at getting the unimportant things done. They have an impressive record of achievement on trivial matters.’ Setting the right kind of goals plays a significant role in developing a successful leader. It is of extreme importance to set realistic achievable goals which fit in with the overall mission, keeping in mind the external constraints such as political, economical, and financial and internal constraints such as the current resources available and the interpersonal issues. In accordance with this s tatement of his, lies the aspect of responsibility within leadership. Rank and privilege is not the core to leadership. It is, in fact, the sense of responsibility that the leader feels and exhibits that represents strong and reliable leadership. Hence, a successful leader is one who takes initiative to tackle a task and uses the given resources optimally to derive maximum benefit. Drucker claims America’s chief of army staff in World War II, General George Marshall, became a productive leader through responsibility and diligence. Such kinds of leaders do not fear the self-determined subordinates. Instead, they encourage their juniors, assisting them to reach their potential and accomplish all that they are capable of. Being ambitious for a leader is far smaller a risk than being mediocre. An effective leader is also aware of the consequence that organizations face in case of the leader’s impeachment. In regard to this, Drucker rightly says: ‘An effective leader knows that the ultimate task of leadership is to create human energies and human vision’ Drucker at one point stresses over the effectiveness that every leader is expected to possess. Be it in a government agency, a hospital, a business, a labour union, a university or army, a leader seems to bear high intelligence and imagination only seconds it. Yet he lacks the vital link between his effectiveness and his intelligence, imagination or knowledge. However, many leaders come in contact with the dangerous near successes traps which usually revolve around the mindset