People often think of organizational leadership, organizational management and organizational behavior as interchangeable terms for a single approach and skillset. While all three areas deal with organizational and human performance and their impacts on business success, each is a different area of study and expertise with distinct organizational applications. The online Master of Arts (MA) in Organizational Leadership program from Florida Institute of Technology offers you the opportunity to delve into the differences between these areas and apply what you learn to advance your career.
For basic differentiation, just as “management” doesn’t automatically equal “leadership,” organizational management and organizational leadership are two distinct arenas, and organizational behavior is a third. Here is what makes each unique and what you need to know to excel in all three areas within your organization.
Organizational Leadership
Organizational leadership studies the psychology of leadership, applying that science to facilitate productive change and movement throughout the organization. This field encompasses individual leader development and applies broadly to the organization in full, looking at areas that can drive the mission and goals of the organization, including:
- Developing leadership styles
- Motivating and inspiring others to achieve common goals
- Establishing visions and strategies
- Communicating clear goals and direction
- Aligning people and building teams
- Operating across diverse functions, industries and geography
- Transforming organizations to adapt and thrive
- Using science to inform decision-making
- Fostering ethical and inclusive organizational cultures
Organizational leadership establishes a strategy to achieve organizational goals — and it’s that balance of leadership strategy and execution that helps organizations achieve success. To excel in an organizational leadership role, you’ll want to cultivate seven key elements of leadership:
- Transparency
- Learning from mistakes or failure
- Trust
- Confidence
- Decisiveness
- Humility
- Creativity
“What organizations need right now are those folks with leadership skills to help take them to the top, and this degree will provide those skills,” says Katrina Merlini, assistant professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology and program chair of the online MA in Organizational Leadership program at Florida Tech. An organizational leadership education prioritizes the ability to compete in a global business environment, motivating teams of professionals with diverse values, attitudes, beliefs, expectations and worldviews and equipping leaders to adapt to changing business needs with agility.
Organizational Management
In understanding the difference between organizational leadership and organizational management, it can be helpful to remember the old saying about the difference between leadership and management: you lead people and manage processes. Management maintains order and productivity while ensuring expectations are met through effective planning and control. Conversely, leadership establishes vision, guides change and inspires alignment, growth and creativity.
While organizational leadership establishes the strategy for setting and achieving organizational goals, organizational management sets and oversees the processes, procedures and organizational structure to successfully execute the strategy. In short, organizational management is everything that ensures the business operates smoothly, such as governing resource allocation, establishing workplace rules and regulations, and setting the organizational structure and often-referenced org chart that help the business function smoothly.
When done well, organizational management should create a clear picture of departmental goals, functions and necessary resources while specifically determining the necessary steps for achieving departmental and organizational goals. Managers at every level of the organization should understand their role and responsibility to their teams and the organization as a whole. When structured correctly, organizational management enables leaders to effectively manage departments, provide clear expectations for employees, and execute and deliver on time and within budget.
Successful organizational management requires a unique mix of organizational intelligence, an analytical mindset and skills in several areas, including:
- Project planning
- Prioritization and organization
- Staff management and motivation
- Decision-making
- Patience and flexibility
Organizational Behavior
To reiterate, organizational leadership sets the goals and strategies for achieving organizational success, and organizational management establishes the “how” — the processes and structures for executing the strategy. Organizational behavior deals with a different “how” — how workers, teams and the organization function, including how that collective behavior impacts performance and success.
To do this, the science of organizational behavior takes an interdisciplinary approach, blending the study of psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science and social psychology to explain how humans work as individuals and as collective groups or organizations. In a business setting, that means recognizing the direct link between employee engagement, job satisfaction, and individual, team and organizational performance.
Organizational psychologists, organizational management consultants or commissioned organizational behavior studies can provide guidance on implementing effective organizational behavior. The results ideally support an environment where employees flourish, increasing both job satisfaction and productivity.
By better understanding the behavior patterns of individuals, groups and organizations, managers can predict what responses will occur from specific actions they may take, ultimately achieving control over the outcome. This practice is crucial in times of change when leaders with organizational behavior expertise can leverage group dynamics and individual influence to help champion wider acceptance of changes.
Integrating All Three Practices Into Your Organization
Several core topics and themes are central to organizational leadership and management: retaining talent, building teams, decision-making, and sound organizational design and culture. Effectively navigating these components of leadership and management relies on having a comprehensive and actionable understanding of organizational behavior.
Making these core themes a part of your organization requires integrating organizational management, organizational leadership and organizational behavior. Each plays a vital and complementary part in strengthening your organization and yourself as a capable, well-equipped organizational leader.
Through intensive coursework, the online MA in Organizational Leadership program from Florida Tech prepares you to be that well-equipped organizational leader. With such integrated knowledge and skill sets at your disposal, you can not only bolster performance, productivity and job satisfaction at your organization but also enact change and transformation to support long-term positive outcomes.
Learn more about Florida Tech’s online Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program.
