Leadership By Sreeram
Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals. The source of this influence may be formal , such as that provided by the possession of managerial rank in an organization . Since management positions come with some degree of formally designated authority , an individual may assume a leadership role as a result of the position he or she holds in the organization .But not all leaders are managers or, for that matter, all managers are not leaders. Just because an organization provides its managers with certain rights is no assurance that they will be able to lead effectively We find that non sanctioned leadership, that is ,the ability to influence that arise outside of the formal structure of the organization is as important or more important than formal influence . In other words , leaders can emerge from within a group as well as being formally appointed.
All are not born leaders. Leadership qualities can be developed by individuals to a certain extent based on their position and need. Invariably leadership qualities are developed and examples set by Military Officers in war or peace.
Likewise Professionals in Industry reveal good leadership qualities and display extraordinary results.
Political leaders nowadays are rarely real leaders and their clout is based on strength of anti social elements of money power.
Leaders and Manager Are Different
Leaders and managers are very different kind of people . They differ in motivation, personal history, and in how they think and act .
Managers tend to adopt impersonal , if not passive, attitudes towards goals whereas leaders adopt a personal and active attitude towards them.
Managers tend to view the work as an enabling process involving some combination of people and ideas interacting to establish strategies and make decision Leaders work from high-risk positions , indeed often temperamentally disposed to seek out danger , especially where opportunity and reward appear high.
Managers prefer to work with people ; they avoid solitary activity because it makes them anxious . They relate to people according to the role they play in a sequence of events or in a decision making process , while leaders . who are concerned with ideas , relate in more intuitive and empathetic ways
Managers need order in the face of the potential chaos that many fear in human relationships . In contrast, one often here leaders referred to in objectives rich in emotional content . Leaders tend to be people who feel separate from their environment , including other people . They may work in organizations, but they never belong to them. Their sense of who they are doesn’t depend on memberships, work roles, or other social indicators of identity .
Leadership qualities can be enhanced by formal training provided the individual is capable of implementing the same in his work sphere.
This article does not cover ‘Leadership styles’ and here I can only say that styles differ between individuals or managers or businessmen.
V.Sree Rama Rao, B.E.,M.I.E.,MIMA has put on 34 years in leasing Indian Corporates in Techno-Commercial areas and retired recently as General Manager. He is a practicing Chartered Engineer and a Business Consultant specialized in the areas of Materials Management Imports, HR and General Management.. He can be contacted on e-mail 
... practical one indeed....
