Management is a set of systems and processes designed for organizing, budgeting, staffing, and problem solving to achieve the desired results of an organization. Leadership defines the mission and vision; it inspires the team to embody the beliefs and behaviors necessary to take the actions needed to achieve those results. The most successful transformations occur when strong, visionary leadership converges with great management. Both are required to define a clear path, plan accordingly, and see the mission plan through to fulfillment (Gleeson, 2017).

Management consists of controlling a group or set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual's ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leasers from managers not power and control (Nayar, 2014). When I worked in Alabama I had a manager that was all about the bottom line. She gave out write-ups every day. Before she came in to work she looked through all of the charting and if anything was missing she would write you up.

In one way her method worked because our unit had the highest compliance rate, the highest customer service rating, and the lowest number of bad incidents. However, the staff was so unhappy that the turnover rate was the highest of any department. There was never enough staff and because there are no ratios in Alabama, many nurses often had nine or more telemetry patients. She did not allow the nurses to participate in "management decisions" and there was no communication between management and staff. My current director is the kind of leader that I hope to become.

I remember the day I met her when I interviewed, I was impressed by the vision she had for this small L&D unit in an underserved community. She inspires us to come to work and do the best job we can with what we are given and she makes us feel like we are an important part of the team.

We have meetings every morning where we can discuss what is going well and what could use some improvement. When we have issues with policies and even computer systems she is always willing to hear us out and often times sends emails to the CEO and CFO to bring about change. In the short six months that I have worked there we have accomplished so much including becoming officially baby friendly.

I strive to be the type of leader and manager that she is. People always work harder and more diligently when they feel like they a part of something. I think that it is important to assert your authority while respecting each member of your team and that includes their opinions and recommendations.
Gleeson, B. (2017, February 23).