Industrial Psychology: Managers and Leaders

When I worked as an Operation Analyst for JPMorgan I often would work with a Regional Manager on which state the machine (usually an ATM) was located. There was one specific manager who was obviously knowledgeable about ATMs, and from what I could tell, was a very hardworking man. If one of his ATMs broke down, I would get it running as fast as possible. I worked hard for him because I respected his leadership, sincerity, and enthusiasm. He always took the time to explain with logic and sound reasoning. I could also see that he was working alongside of me and not simply demanding I do this or that. He led by example and logic which earned my highest respect. To me, this is strong leadership.
In all my years in the workforce, I have encountered many managers and truthfully, a very few leaders. The understanding gained from learning industrial psychology and the impressions I have gathered from personal experiences have lead to me to believe that management is a position anyone can hold. It is a title given to someone with the belief that this person can “manage” (and hopefully lead). It is simply a matter of “hit and miss” whether or not that person has leadership qualities. Being a manager involves: “planning, organizing, controlling, and leading” this basically can be interpreted as “administrative work (Dubrin, 2004).Leadership is much more than that. It involves the right personality and qualities that have been honed and developed that can “inspire(s) and energize(s) people and bring(s) about change” (Dubrin, 2004). Among those personalities and qualities are passion and enthusiasm, self-confidence, insight, courage, and sense of humor. Leaders also possess distinct skills and behaviors among them are: direction setting, trustworthiness, high standards, accessibility, and supportiveness.
I personally think that this distinction needs to be recognized primarily by those who are responsible for hiring as well as promoting individuals within the company. In order for a company/business to really thrive, it needs leaders. If one cannot recognize and distinguish the leaders from the non-leaders, then one is basically staffing a company to achieve mediocre success with a higher probability of failure.

Reference

DuBrin, A.J. (2004). Applying Psychology: Individual and organizational effectiveness (6th ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.