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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Qualities of leadership

At Brightwater Software, founder Li Na Chen is respected for her vision, but she has no formal authority over the engineers in a partner firm whose cooperation is vital. She persuades them by sharing a compelling picture of the future and by showing personal integrity. A colleague argues she is merely 'managing'. Which analysis is most defensible?

She is leading. Leadership rests on influence through vision and credibility and does not require formal authority, whereas management usually draws on a formal position over subordinates and resources. Li Na has no authority over the partner engineers yet gains their commitment through persuasion.

  1. AShe is leading, because influence without positional authority through vision and credibility is characteristic of leadership, whereas management typically relies on formal authorityCorrect
  2. BShe is managing, because managers always rely on persuasion rather than authority
  3. CShe is managing, because only people with a formal hierarchy can be leaders
  4. DShe is neither, because leadership requires a formal title to exist

Explanation

Leadership is an influence relationship and can exist without formal position, using vision, trust and credibility. Management is typically tied to a formal role with delegated authority over resources and subordinates. The partner engineers are not her subordinates, so her effect on them is best described as leadership.

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