An organization’s management leadership helps employees perform their tasks and motivate employees to do better. Managerial leadership works hand-in-hand with employees for improved results. But do you know who management leadership is?
Who Is Management Leadership?
Management leadership refers to all persons in the organization who hold a functional or managerial position that gives them the authority to supervise other employees and influence the organization’s decisions and choices, regardless of whether these people have leadership skills.
The efficiency of managerial leadership reflects the efficiency of the business. To understand the concept of management leadership, let’s read this article to the end because you would need this concept to increase the efficacy of your business.
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Explanation of management leadership
Management leadership refers to all the managerial positions in an organization. All the managers working at any level comes under the category of management leadership. The leadership skills of managers do not have any connection with their positions.
Managers can be good leaders or bad leaders. They can possess certain leadership traits or not. Their leadership skills do not affect their managerial position. But it does affect the prosperity of your business and the efficiency of work processes.
Read the article “Are Managers Employees?” to understand the role of managers in the success of an organization and their affect on other employees.
If the managerial leadership has good leadership traits, it will benefit the organization as well as its employees. But if the management leadership does not have leadership traits, they will still be called management leadership, but they will not be fruitful in flourishing the business and improving the work performance.
For example, the managerial leadership has multiple managers like an HR manager, Marketing manager, Operations head, Sales manager, etc. They are all part of the company’s management leadership because they are authorized to perform specific tasks and control employees under their supervision.
These managers are capable of motivating the staff and giving them the inspiration to do better. On the other hand, these are the people who have the capacity to encourage fraud and unethical practices in an organization. Management leadership is a position with immense authority and responsibility. When authority is handed over to incompetent people it can be used in a bad way.
So let’s ask again, who is management leadership? Every manager who supervises employees and has the authority to make organizational choices comes under management leadership.
Management leadership positions
When we ask who any organization’s management leadership is, it usually refers to the top-level managers. It is a misconception that only people on the top are part of management leadership.
When we talk about management leadership, it includes all levels of managers. Managers may be lower-level, middle-level, or top-level; they are all included in our management leadership. All these management positions have a different set of authorities, but their goal is the same, and that is the achievement of organizational objectives.
Let’s discuss various management leadership positions in detail so that you can understand their authority over employees and how their decisions affect the organization.
Different managerial positions are:
- Top-level managers
- Middle-level managers
- Low-level managers
Top-level management
Top-level management includes senior executives or senior management. These are the people at the top of the organization. They mainly hold positions like Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Operational Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), President, Vice president, Chairperson of the Board, and Corporate head.
- Top-level managers are responsible for defining organizational goals.
- Top managers do not participate in day-to-day activities but provide a vision for the future.
- These managers have the power to make big decisions that impact the entirety of the business.
- Top-level managers are considered responsible for the prosperity of the business, its performance, and profit value.
- Top managers possess excellent decision-making and communication skills.
Middle-Level Management
Middle-level managers come under the top-level managers. They usually possess managerial positions such as plant manager, general manager, divisional manager, regional manager, etc. Middle-level management needs exquisite interpersonal and communication skills.
The middle-level management is responsible for:
- Setting their department’s goal in the light of organizational goals. Their department goals should help in the attainment of organizational goals.
- Motivating all the employees and managers working under their supervision to achieve the organizational goals.
- Communicating the feedback and suggestions back to the top-level managers.
- Taking part in day-to-day activities of a firm
- Helping top management improve procedures because they closely interact with bottom line employees.
Lower-Level Management
Lower-level management is also known as first-level managers. Some other names are shop-level managers, first-line managers, and supervisors. Their titles include store manager, shift supervisor, department manager, etc.
Lower-level management is responsible for the handling and supervision of line workers. Line workers are those employees who produce the goods or services. First-line managers have the most interaction with staff or workers. They directly manage and supervise the workers.
Lower-level managers are responsible for motivating employees to keep their focus on performance. If the manager is not encouraging them, there is a chance of lousy performance, lower efficiency, and job termination.
Although first-level managers are not the ones who set organizational goals, they certainly play an essential role in achieving them because they supervise and motivate the working staff. Lower-level managers should have technical knowledge of their supervising process to get work done more effectively.
The supervisory role of management leadership
The manager usually performs four basic management functions; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Any manager, be it top-level or lower-level, is responsible for supervising his subordinates.
All management positions is about checking work functions and ensuring that they are executed appropriately. Every manager who is supervising employees at any level is making choices and decisions that directly affect the progress of work.
The supervisory role mainly belongs to lower and middle managers. It holds a lot of importance because they are in direct connection with line workers. The problems, issues, and demands of workers directly reach supervisors.
Hence, management leadership in supervisory roles uses their authority to take decisions and solve their issues for the betterment of the organization.
The influential role of management leadership
Management leadership also plays a vital role in inspiring the employees. They act as influential beings who give the staff directions and inspire them towards a common goal. Motivating employees is essential for achieving goals.
When employees are motivated and influenced by their bosses, they tend to work better. Furthermore, employees feel a connection with their managers and focus their energy on accomplishing the given task. The manager’s appreciation and encouragement cause employees to work harder.
When management inspires employees, it brings a sense of joy throughout the work process. In addition to that, employees feel a sense of community with their managers. It also builds trust among teams and makes teamwork easier.
Management leadership inspires employees to coordinate their efforts towards a common goal and foster a learning spirit.
Are leadership skills necessary?
It is usually considered that in order to be a part of managerial leadership, one must possess leadership skills. Well, I’m afraid I have to disagree. I think management leadership, with or without leadership traits, will still be our management leadership.
For example, when we ask who the leadership of American politics is? The current president. Now the president may or may not have leadership qualities, but he will still be considered the leader of a country. There are many presidents who totally lack leadership qualities, but when the question arises, who is the leader of the country? The answer is, Mr President!
This example shows that anyone who is at the top of the hierarchy is the leader of the company. The top managers may not possess the leadership qualities but are still called the leaders of a business.
We have been talking about leadership traits, but what are these traits? Leadership traits are:
- Effective communication
- Accountability and responsibility
- Self-motivation
- Confidence
- Long-term planning
- People-orientation
- Emotional stability
All the traits mentioned above are leadership traits. Moreover, it’s a misconception that people are born with leadership qualities. It is a learning experience; anyone can ace these qualities with practice.
Having leadership qualities helps in efficiency maximization and accomplishment of organizational goals. Managerial leadership with leadership qualities can guide employees and teams towards the defined goals.
Effect of management leadership on business
Management leadership is responsible for the functioning of a business. If the managerial leadership has some leadership qualities, it will have a tremendous impact on the productivity of the business. If the management lacks leadership qualities, it will have a worse effect on productivity.
The effect on the business depends on the attitude of managerial leadership. When a manager works side by side with team members, he shows up physically and mentally for every activity. His presence is noticed and impactful.
On the contrary, when the manager issues an order and vanishes from the office. He becomes unavailable for questions and does not actively participate in subsequent activities; his absence is also noticed and impactful. But the impact is terrible.
So, the effect of management leadership on business depends upon the behaviour and activities of the managers.
Conclusion
Management leadership is crucial to the success of your organization and improved efficiency. But who is management leadership?
Management leadership refers to all persons in the organization who hold a functional or managerial position that gives them the authority to supervise other employees and influence the organization’s decisions and choices, regardless of whether these people have leadership skills.
Management leadership includes all levels of managers, top-level, middle-level, and lower-level. All of them have different authorities and duties to fulfil. All managers are responsible for supervising the staff and inspiring them towards the goal.
Management leadership may or may not have leadership qualities. These qualities are a plus for the company’s future, and not having these qualities will negatively impact the business.
