Management is defined as the coordination and integration of resources through planning, organizing, coordinating, directing, and controlling in order to accomplish specific institutional goals and objectives (Huber, 1996, p. 5). Leadership, by contract, is defined as the process of influencing people to accomplish goals (Huber, 1996, pp. 4-5). As Huber (1996, p. 5) notes, leadership can occur within any group, whereas the practice of management must be focused on an organization or an institution.
Leadership, thus, is a process of motivating and persuading, while management tends to involve a focus on the details of implementing plans. Huber (1996, p. 4) said of nursing administration that it is the creative combination of leadership and management knowledge and skill applied to the practice of nursing for the purposes of organizing nursing care delivery, coordinating and managing client care, and creating a positive work climate. As opposed to the question of "how effective a nurse manager would be if her or she combined leadership and management behaviors," a much better question is "how can a nurse manager be effective if he or she does not combine leadership and management behaviors," as each of these behavior sets are required to effectively discharge the responsibilities of a nurse manager. Creating a positive work climate, as an example, requires leadership, while coordinating and managing client care requires management.
2. Professions: Contract With Society
Huber (1996, p. 29) states that a profession is comprised of a system of roles that are socially defined. Society grants certain privileges to professions, such as autonomy of action, control over entry into the profession, and prestige, among others. In return, society expects from members of a recognized profession the adherence to ethical standards of conduct, the effective provision of the services associated with the profession, and upholding the publ...