How Leadership Influence in Deciding Group Management Goals

Leadership is one of the core functions of Management. The management uses the leadership quality of a manager to obtain the work completed. A manager can issue orders and instructions to his subordinates. It is through the leadership role of managers that employees may be induced to perform their duties properly and maintain harmony in group activities. A manager possessing proper authority can guide and direct his subordinates and command their obedience by his power. At the same time as a leader, the manager can obtain the cooperation of all the group and influence work behavior utilizing his leadership ability.

What is leadership?

Leadership may be defined as a process of influencing group activities towards the achievement of certain goals. That means the leader remains the person in a group who can influence the group to work willingly. Through his guidance and directions, other people in the group get the purpose and directions for their efforts. Even though he is distinct from the rest of the group, he is a part of the group that he leads. As defined by George R Terry "Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives."

Leadership naturally creates the existence of a leader, and followers as well as their mutual interaction. It involves interpersonal relationships through which the followers receive the leader's guidance for the accomplishment of a specified goal.

A manager can be more effective if he is an excellent leader, as he has to lead and guide his subordinates towards the achievement of group goals/objectives. He does not depend exclusively on his formal authority or his positional power to secure group performance but can exercise his leadership influence for the purpose. As a leader, he influences the behavior and conduct of the members of the team in the interest of the organization. He also influences the individual as well as the group as a whole.

It is to be noted that leadership and management are not the identical things. Management involves coordinating, planning, controlling, and organizing operations for the achievement of the various organizational objectives. On the other hand, leadership remains a process that inspires people and influences them to willingly accomplish organizational objectives. Thus, a manager is more than a leader. But a leader needs not be a manager. In an informal group, the leader may not be a manager, still, he may influence the conduct of his fellow members. At this point his role and position depend on the acceptance of his followers.

The power delegated to him by his superiors is there for the manager who acts as a leader in an organization. Managers have an organized group of subordinates under his authority, and his leadership is an accompaniment of his position. Therefore, managerial leadership exhibits the following characteristics:

1. Manager guides, direct and influence the behavior of subordinates, and it is a continuous process.

2. Due to the quality of his behavior as a leader, the manager-leader can influence the behavior of his subordinates at work.

3. To obtain the willing cooperation of the workgroup in the achievement of the specified objective is the purpose of managerial leadership.

4. The success of a manager as a leader depends on the acceptance of his leadership by the subordinates.

5. While group goals are pursued, individual goals are also achieved and it is required in managerial leadership.

The requirement of managerial and leadership roles of managers bring forth the importance of managerial leadership in an organization. The togetherness of managerial and leadership qualities lead to effective task performance and fuller achievement of organization goals and human satisfaction. Management is based on the formal authority of managers.

Whereas, being leaders of work groups enables managers to achieve results based on interpersonal relations. The leader manager identifies himself with the workgroup. He acts as an intermediary between his subordinates and the top management. He expresses a personal interest in the development of his subordinates, helps them in overcoming individual problems through advice and counsellings, creates an appropriate work environment, and builds up the team spirit. As a result, the leader-manager can develop better teamwork. The subordinates willingly accept his guidance, advice, and direction and are inspired as a group to accomplish specific goals.

Functions of Leadership
The leadership functions of a manager are related to his managerial functions. The leaser as a manager has to set the group goal, motivate and inspire subordinates, make plans, and supervise the performance. Over and above these managerial functions he discharges some other functions as a Leader.