I am a Practice Manager within Childrens Service. I have four years post qualifying experience and have a PQ which I obtained in 2010. I took up post as a Practice Manager in February 2010 on the same team that I had joined a newly qualified social worker.

The structure of the team allows for a Principal Manager and three Practice Managers, currently we have a practice manager vacancy. The team has 20 social workers working a mixture of full and part time with an additional three social work assistants. I personally have supervisory responsibility for nine social workers and three social work assistants. I also act as either workplace supervisor or practice educator to social work students undertaking their placements.

The words management and leadership are often used interchangeable and yet closer scrutiny highlights distinct differences. Kotter suggests that although complementary to each other as they both involve identifying what needs to be done, finding the right people and then ensuring that the task is completed the approach is different. Management he suggests promotes stability and leaders press for and cope with change.

Once a problem/task is identified a manager will delegate tasks, coach and develop staff and oversee the day-to-day management issues. Results are measured through meeting of performance indicators and feedback through reports, supervision and meetings.

Leadership adopts a more strategic approach developing a future vision which is then communicated to the wider workforce. It is important that leaders are able to motivate and inspire staff to gain and retain their commitment to the vision and achievement of the goal.
It is suggested that the biggest difference between managers and leaders is the way they motivate the people who work or follow them. Managers have a position of authority vested in them by the company, and their team work for them.
One management style can be viewed as transactional (also referred to as authoritarian), in that the manager directs the worker to undertake a task which the worker completes in return for reward – generally financial. This style allows little scope for individual creativeness as team members are expected to follow directives often unquestioningly. True leaders on the other hand often relinquish formal authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.
Working from the premise that people will follow a leader that inspires them it is important that the approach I adopt for a situation engages the workforce in shared goals and vision as this way the task will be easier to achieve. Transformational leadership then, requires that I am wholeheartedly committed to the teams objectives and that I am able to share this vision enthusiastically with the team at every opportunity.

Acknowledging that not all team members will harness the vision immediately (and some may never fully commit) it is a vitally important that I create a culture of trust and integrity and that I lead by example. It is also important that I take responsibility when goals are not achieved and pursue other avenues rather than adopting an authoritarian response which often results in low morale and thus leads to poor performance as team members are not committed to self motivation and improvement. Adapting a transformational style requires me to ensure the team remains focused on achieving the shared vision. To achieve this I have ensured that at the monthly team meetings individual colleagues are recognized for compliments received or particular examples of good practice. This helps to raise the morale of the team and provides continuing motivation, it also portrays to the team the belief that I, as a manager, have in them collectively and also individually.

A leadership style that compliments the transformational style is the Charismatic style of leadership. A charismatic leader relies on their charm to