Introduction A significant and controversial issue is how management is different from leadership. Some consider them essentially the same thing; however, in increasingly complex and dynamic businesses, the need for greater specialization requires us to recognize that they are different. Managers and leaders are essentially two different functions and serve two different purposes within organizations. Leaders promote new directions while management implements existing processes as efficiently as possible (McCrimmon, 2007). Managers and leaders are both essential in organizations and must be separate components that work together. Leaders don't need to know how to manage, but managers need to know how to lead. This analysis will provide background on leadership theory, in the process of defining leadership and management, and discussing the trait approach, contingency theory, and leader exchange theory. BackgroundRobbins and Judge (2013) define leadership as the ability to “influence others toward achieving a vision or set of goals” (p. 368). “Leadership involves influence, it occurs between people, those people intentionally desire meaningful change, and changes reflect shared purposes between leaders and followers” ​​(Daft, 2011, p. 5). Therefore, leadership includes influencing people, both leaders and followers, to bring about change toward a desirable future (Daft , 2011).“Management can be defined as achieving organizational objectives effectively and efficiently through planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling organizational resources” (Daft, 2011, p. 15). Management is a set of well-known processes that ensure that an organization has the resources to perform well in a predictable manner (Kot...... middle of paper ......Simpson, R.B. (2007). Classic Readings in Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.Robins, SP & Judge, TA (2013) Organizational Behavior (15th ed.: Pearson.Sanders, CG (2014). the ability of organizations to deal with complex and dynamic situations. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 8(2), 136-150.Sinha, J.B.P. (1995).R.M. (1974).Handbook of leadership: A survey of theory and research.Yukl, G., & Lepsinger, R. (2005).Why the integration of leadership and management is essential to organizational effectiveness Dynamics, 34(4), 361-375.Zaleznik, A. (1992).. 1-12.