Leadership and Management in Organisations

Agility has become a prerequisite for organisations in a business environment that is characterised by change. Hierarchical systems of management are yielding to a “new leadership” movement which has at its core shared vision and individual empowerment. By developing awareness of these and other influential trends, those who have a responsibility for leading and managing in some form will be better equipped to flex their style and to play the diverse roles required of the managerial leader in contemporary organisations.

John Kotter of the Harvard Business School is one of a number of experts who believe that organisations are over managed and under led, at least partially because people do not appreciate the differences between management and leadership. We start this book by challenging mental models of leadership and management. Agility has become a prerequisite for organisations in a business environment that is characterised by change. Two trends in particular have been evident. First hierarchical systems of management are yielding to a “new leadership” movement which has at its core shared vision and individual empowerment in place of consistency and control. Second, leadership is no longer the preserve of those in positions in the management hierarchy. Increasingly it is dispersed through the organisation. By developing awareness of these and other influential trends, those who have a responsibility for leading and managing in some form will be better equipped to flex their style and to play the diverse roles required of the managerial leader in contemporary organisations.