The relationship between leadership and administration

The definitions of leadership and management are very similar. While leadership entails the well-being of your team and motivating them, administration involves ensuring that your team meets its goals and they have all the resources to do so. Both leaders and administrators require a broad range of skills, patience and empathy to deal with conflicting situations.

Roles in the modern workplace are constantly changing and, as such, leaders and administrators often have very different job descriptions. It is therefore important to know the differences between leadership and administration in order to establish yourself as a successful professional in either role.

Whether you want to pursue an administrative or leadership career, this blog explains the complex relationship between the two as well as the skills required for each role.

What is leadership?

You can define leadership as an art of motivating and encouraging people to meet their individual and common goals. It involves being able to inspire yourself and others to achieve their potential. Within the workplace, leadership entails directing teams and working with them to develop developmental strategies which meet the company goals.

In business settings, it can be difficult to define leadership as most corporate roles have some leadership capacities that can allow you to inspire and lead your colleagues and teammates. As a leader, you will also be responsible for handling the company metrics and make strategies accordingly for continuous development.

What are the different types of leadership skills?

  • Clarity of thought
  • Public speaking skills
  • Presentation skills
  • Listening skills
  • Motivation
  • Patience
  • Positivity
  • Trustworthiness

What is administration?

Administration can be defined as the efficient management of people, resources and information to meet the objectives of a workplace. Administration essentially forms the backbone of any organization; without it, information goes missing, goals are delayed and the management is will be unable to deal with serious crises.

Many corporate roles require some level of administrative management such as planning, coordinating, directing or controlling important aspects of a business. Administrative roles may also involve distributing information and resources as required by the employees.

Roles in administration include administrative coordinators, admin services manager, admin services officer or an administrative director.

What are the administrative skills required for a successful career?

  • Technological skills
  • Verbal and written communication skills
  • Organizational skills
  • Time management skills
  • Resourcefulness
  • Delegation skills

What is the difference between leadership and administration?

Although you would need both administrative leadership skills to ensure organizational efficiency, there are various differences between the two roles. While administration involves delegating responsibilities and exerting authority, leadership entails providing direction to shape the company’s goals and motivating the employees to achieve them.

You can think of administration as more of an exact science; it includes a lot of planning, measurement and standardization. On the other hand, leadership is more of an art of inspiring people and creating visions and ideas.

What are the similarities between leadership and administration?

In spite of their differences, there are many links between leadership and administration. Both concepts work towards the overall improvement of the organization.

A good administrator needs leadership skills if they want their subordinates to respect them. Similarly, leaders in the workplace need numerous administrative skills like resource management, schedule management and organizational skills.

Both leadership and administration go hand-in-hand in ensuring organizational efficiency and target completion. You will therefore need to develop both sets of skills for a successful corporate career.

If you aspire to a managerial or administrative role, you should check out Toronto School of Management’s executive training workshop. It will develop your crucial business skills and provide you with a solid understanding of international business practices. Click here to learn more about the course.

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