Leadership Essentials: Definition, Key Roles
In the realm of management theory, two influential figures, Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg, have left indelible marks on our understanding of what managers do and how they operate. While both have contributed significantly to the field, their approaches to defining management functions are notably different.
Fayol, a central figure in classical management theory, outlined five primary functions that are considered universal and sequential across all organizations. These functions include Planning, Organizing, Commanding (or Directing), Coordinating, and Controlling (sometimes Monitoring). Fayol’s framework is process-oriented and prescriptive, offering managers a clear roadmap of what they should do to run an organization effectively.
On the other hand, Mintzberg challenged the classical view by observing what managers actually do in day-to-day practice. He identified ten managerial roles, grouped into three categories: Interpersonal Roles, Informational Roles, and Decisional Roles. These roles include Figurehead, Leader, Liaison, Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson, Entrepreneur, Disturbance Handler, Resource Allocator, and Negotiator. Mintzberg’s approach is behavioral and empirical, emphasizing the multifaceted, often chaotic reality of managerial work.
The key differences between Fayol’s functions and Mintzberg’s roles lie in their orientation, structure, focus, scope, and influence. Fayol’s functions are process-oriented, sequential, and focused on planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. In contrast, Mintzberg’s roles are behavioral, situational, and encompass a wide range of interpersonal, informational, and decisional activities.
Staffing, which includes finding and maintaining adequate human resources, determining workforce requirements, recruitment, training staff, developing compensation and performance evaluation methods, and establishing an employee dismissal system, is an additional function of management, not previously mentioned in Fayol’s work.
In summary, Fayol provides a systematic, idealized list of management functions that are meant to be universal and sequential. Mintzberg, however, offers a dynamic, observational model of what managers actually do, highlighting the complexity and unpredictability of the managerial role. Fayol’s model is best for understanding the theory of management, while Mintzberg’s is superior for grasping the practice of management in real organizations.
Despite the differences, Fayol’s work remains foundational for understanding management processes, and Mintzberg’s research reveals the limitations of these classical models when applied to the messy realities of organizational life. Both theorists have contributed invaluably to our understanding of management, and their works continue to inform and shape management practices today.
In the realm of finance, understanding leadership and business strategies is crucial for shaping successful careers. For instance, a finance professional might leverage Mintzberg's observational model to enhance their decision-making roles within a business, leading to more informed investment choices. Simultaneously, knowledge of Fayol's systematic functions can provide a baseline for planning staffing resources, ensuring efficient human capital management in the organization.
