By: Kay Olo Carceres
Preliminary
Everyone agrees that Talking about leadership issues is a very interesting topic of conversation and gets everyone’s attention, moreover, leadership issues can be viewed from various angles according to one’s specialization or even one’s needs. Therefore, we should not be surprised if the problem of leadership from time to time gets the attention of everyone, especially the experts in the field, to the point that some say that the problem of leadership is as old as human history and humanity.
This statement is not an exaggeration because it must be admitted that leadership is needed by all human beings, because in every human being there are strengths and weaknesses. A person has certain advantages but at the same time, he also has certain disadvantages. His advantages may not exist in others, so he can complete them, but he also has certain shortcomings, so that other people can complete them.
Things like this also apply in leadership issues, there are humans who have limited ability to lead on the one hand, but on the other hand, there are humans who have the excess ability to lead. In an atmosphere like this arises what is called the need for leaders and leadership.
Therefore, we should not be surprised if we follow the writings and or descriptions of leadership always give an ideal picture of leadership and end with pleasure. This is understandable because humans really need that leadership. And it is not even an exaggeration to mention that from time to time leadership becomes the foundation of hope for all human beings.
To show the importance of this leadership issue, there is one very extreme opinion which states that, the world or mankind in this world is essentially only determined by a few people, namely those who are leaders. And there is also the phrase ”GALOLEN” which goes hand in hand with this, namely, If an elephant and an elephant fight, then the humpback dies in the middle. These two expressions imply that the problem of leadership and leadership is a very major problem in the life and life of mankind.
Leaders and Leadership
As mentioned in the introduction that the problem of leadership is the main problem in the life and life of mankind, that’s why mankind always needs leadership, because to achieve the success of a goal and the occurrence of work efficiency there must be a leader. Therefore, scientists do a lot of study and research on leadership and leadership issues. And scholars have provided various definitions of leader and leadership, highlighting one or several certain aspects in accordance with the idea of the originator of the definition and its interpretation.
Leadership is a branch of the group of administrative sciences, especially the science of state administration. While administrative science is a branch of the social sciences and is one of the developments of philosophy. In leadership there are relationships between people; namely, the influence relationship (from the leader), and the followers/subordinates compliance relationship because it is influenced by the leader’s obligations. The followers are affected by the power of the leader, and spontaneously awakens a sense of obedience to the leader.
Leadership is defined by various people, some say that leadership is the exercise of authority and decision making. There are also those who mean that leadership is an initiative to act that produces a consistent pattern in order to find a way to solve a common problem. And there are also those who state that leadership is an activity to influence people to be directed to achieve organizational goals. Others state that leadership is the art of influencing others or the art of influencing human behavior both individually and in groups.
Leadership as mentioned above appears with the existence of human civilization; that is, since the time of the Prophets and human ancestors who gathered together, then worked together to maintain their existence against the savagery of animals and their natural surroundings. Since then there has been cooperation between people, and there is an element of leadership.
The emergence of a leader is caused by various things, broadly speaking, it can be mentioned in three theories, namely:
First, Genetic Theory. This theory states as follows:
a. Leaders are not made but are born to be leaders by extraordinary natural talents from birth.
b. He was born to be a leader in any situation and condition.
Second, Social Theory (as opposed to genetic theory), which states the following:
a. The leader must be prepared, educated, and formed, not just born.
b. Everyone can become a leader, through preparation and education efforts, and is driven by his own will.
Third, Ecological Theory or Synthesis (arising as a reaction to the two theories first). This theory states that a person will be successful in becoming a leader if from birth he has had leadership talents, and these talents had been developed through experience and educational efforts; also in accordance with environmental/ecological demands.
Leaders have their own unique and distinctive traits, habits, temperament, character, and personality so that it is their behavior and style that distinguishes them from others. This style or style of life will definitely color his behavior and leadership type. And on this basis also born what is called the types of leadership, as follows:
- Charismatic Type.
This type has the power of energy, attraction, and extraordinary authority to influence others, so he has a very large following and trusted bodyguards. This leader is considered to have supernatural powers and superhuman abilities which he obtained as a gift from God Almighty.
- Paternalistic Type
This type is the type of fatherly leadership, with the following characteristics:
a. He considers his subordinates as immature humans or children themselves who need to be developed.
b. He is being overly protective.
c. Rarely gives subordinates to make their own decisions.
d. Never give his subordinates the opportunity to take the initiative.
e. Almost never give the opportunity to his subordinates or followers to develop their own imagination and creativity.
f. Always be omniscient and omniscient.
3. Militaristic Type
This type is pretentious military. Only the external style imitates the military style, but if you look closely, this type is very similar to the authoritarian leadership type. The type of militaristic leadership is different from the type of leadership of military organizations. The characteristics of militaristic leadership include
a. More use of the command system/command.
b. Requires absolute obedience from subordinates.
c. Very fond of formalities, signs of greatness, and others.
d. Demands strict and rigid discipline.
e. Do not want proposals, suggestions, suggestions, and criticism from subordinates.
f. Communication only takes place in one direction.
- Autocratic Type
Autocratic leadership is based on power and coercion that absolutely must be obeyed. The leader always wants to act as a single player in a one-man show. He was very ambitious to dominate the situation. Every order and policy was set without consulting his subordinates.
- Laissez Fair Type
This type of leadership The Leader practically does not lead; he let his group and everyone do their own thing. The leader does not participate at all in his group activities. All work and responsibilities must be carried out by subordinates themselves. He is a Symbol Leader and usually lacks technical skills.
- Populist Type
This type is the type of leadership that can build people’s solidarity.
This leadership adheres to traditional community values. This type is often associated with and even called traditional modernity.
- Administrative or Executive Type
This type of leadership is able to carry out administrative tasks effectively. Meanwhile, the leaders consist of technocrats and administrators who are able to drive the dynamics of modernization and development.
- Democratic Type
This type is a human-oriented type of leadership and provides efficient guidance to followers. There is the coordination of work among all subordinates, with an emphasis on a sense of internal responsibility (to oneself) and good cooperation. The strength of this type of leadership lies not in the individual leader, but in the active participation of each member of the group.
Management and Manager
Apart from being known for having Leaders and Leadership to achieve a certain goal, the term Management and Managers is also known which is more organized and organized. The development of management is closely related to the development of administration in developed countries as a result of the industrial revolution. Industry needs that expect profit (many profits) demand improvement and performance improvement through various studies and research.
The research was conducted on models of work improvement, utilization of resources, (manpower, funds, facilities, and infrastructure), methods, and work systems. The ultimate goal is work efficiency and effectiveness so that profits become greater. In this study and research, it is very important to pay attention to how to move other people to feel happy at work. With this view, various theories and understandings of management were born.
These notions of Management have been put forward by many experts according to their respective points of view where between each other there are similarities and there are also differences. These definitions include:
First, management is the process of leading and facilitating the work of people who are formally organized as a group to achieve desired goals (Johan D. Millet).
Second, management is a function of every chief executive (Ralph C. Davis).
Third, Management is a process and device that directs and guides the activities of an organization/administration to achieve the stated goals (Ordway Team).
Fourth, Management is a unique process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling actions in which both knowledge and expertise are used in each field and are followed sequentially in order to achieve the predetermined targets (G.R. Terry).
Fifth, Management is the art of achieving maximum results with minimal effort, as well as achieving maximum welfare and happiness for both the leadership and workers and providing the best possible service to the community. (Johan F. Mee).
From the various definitions above, it can be concluded that:
First, in the sense of management, there is always a certain goal to be achieved by the group concerned.
Second, Management is always applied in relation to the business of a group of people and there is no one particular person’s business.
Third, management is expected to achieve maximum results by mobilizing minimal resources.
Fourth, in management, there are four important elements, namely Planning, Organizing, Actuating, and Controlling.
However, if we look at other literature on management functions, there are many kinds, including those proposed by J. L. Massie who introduced the management function as follows:
a) Decision making, namely the process of a series of actions that are consciously selected from various existing variables, intended to achieve the desired results.
b) Organizing, namely the process of determining the structure and allocation of work.
c) Staffing, namely the process of management selecting, training, appointing, and dismissing his subordinates.
d) Planning, which is the process of management anticipating the future and formulating the best alternative with a series of actions.
e) Control, which is the process of measuring ongoing implementation and is a guide to several goals that have been previously set.
f) Communication, namely the process of ideas (ideas) conveyed to others with the intention of achieving the desired results effectively.
g) Guidance, namely the process of implementing the real work of a subordinate being guided to achieve general goals.
Difference between Leadership and Management
Leadership and management are often confused by many people and are somewhat similar to each other. However, there are differences between the two. Leadership in essence has a rather broad understanding compared to management. Management is a special kind of thinking of leadership in its efforts to achieve organizational goals. The key difference between these two concepts of thought lies in the term organization. Leadership can occur at any time and anywhere as long as someone is trying to influence the behavior of another person or group, regardless of the form of the reason. Thus leadership can occur because of trying to achieve one’s goals or group goals, and it can be the same or not in line with organizational goals.
Leadership does not have to be limited by bureaucratic rules or manners, leadership does not have to be timed to occur in a particular organization, but leadership can occur anywhere, as long as someone demonstrates his ability to influence the behavior of other people towards the achievement of a certain goal, without having to be tied to an organization, and not limited by structural communication lines, but can establish lines of communication. networks that permeate broadly beyond structural lines, such as Informal Leadership.
If the leadership is limited by bureaucratic manners or is associated with the occurrence in a particular organization, it is called management. Functions such as planning, organizing, implementing, and supervising are the main concerns that must be carried out. These functions are relevant in every type of organization and every level of the management hierarchy in that organization.
Thus a leader can behave as a manager. But a manager does not necessarily have to hold a leadership position to influence the behavior of others. In other words, a manager is not necessarily a leader, but a leader can behave as a manager.
Solution: Leaders and Managers need each other.
Thank you so much
The author is Coordinator and Founder of Leadership Development Centre.
