Leadership and Management : Connecting Theory and Real-Life Experience

Abstract: Idea and Purpose The background of this thesis is the ongoing discussion ofleadership and management and how these terms are connected. Unfortunatelythe discussuion of this topic is very much restricted to books and scientific papers. My idea is to first clarify the terms of management and leadership and then, through dialogues to find out if and how the differences are relevant in daily work-life. My personal aim is to raise the awareness to the importance of leadership because it deals with the human being as a whole. Further I hope that this work might inspire executives to reflect themselves and to improve the relationship between them and their followers. Research Question Do leaders differentiate between leadership and management and how does the difference influence their understanding of the issue andtheir individual leadership style? Methodology The approach used here is a qualitative one, using dialogues to understand the ideas and opinions of todays people in leading positions through interpretation and interaction.