DIFFRENT TYPES OF LEADERSHIP STYLES

Like management, leadership has been defined by many people in many different ways. Regardless, the consensus is that leadership is a process of influencing individuals or a group of people in achieving organizational goals. As a leader, you strive to ensure balance between organizational goals, your group and yourself. When all is said and done, a successful leader is the one who succeeds in getting others to follow. As a leader, you must learn to work with others effectively including direct subordinates, peers and others outside of your organization. However, in working with subordinates, a leader must be the person who guides the team towards their goals.

The primary difference between management and leadership is that leaders are more concerned with doing the right thing while managers are concerned with doing things right. In addition, leaders focus on visions, missions, goals and objectives, while mangers are concerned with productivity and efficiency. According to Peter Drucker, leaders are responsible of inspiring and motivating others to grow while managers focus on controlling and executing task.

Remember, when former president George W Bush stood in the middle of the ruins after 9-11 with a bull horn and shouted “I heard you loud and Clear and America heard you” which inspire us to unite as one nation ready to confront the enemy together. That is leadership. Or when president Obama assured us during the 2008 economic melt down that “America will come out of this recession stronger and better” and those words assured us that the American economy will revive and be better. Similarly, when your Director or VP assured you of his support when you missed the targeted goals of the quarter, or you are struggling to fill that important position, and he or she looked at you and said “thank you for all that you do for this organization” that is what a leader does when their subordinates are in need of their encouragement.

 There are a number of ways to categorize leaders or leadership styles. The most common types are as follows-

Authoritarian leaders- these leaders are the ones who often make decision themselves instead of allowing their subordinates to make them. These leaders are also leaders who micromanage their team. They tend to control every aspect of the business which can undermine efficiency and erode talents. They assumed that they know everything and never ask the opinion of their team.

Participative or Democratic leadership style are leaders who allow their followers to be involved in the decision making process. They use their team in setting basic objectives; determine task to be done and establish strategies. For instance, allowing team members to brainstorm in what needs to be included in the daily shift duty book for store managers instead of just creating one all by himself, a leader who conclude his meeting by asking the opinions of every team member at the end of the meeting and soliciting input on how we can do things better for our associates and the organization at large. These types of leaders are leaders who inspire and motivate their followers to grow.

Directive leadership is the leadership style in which followers understood what is expected of them, granting them exact guidelines for completing a task, setting expectations, scheduling work and making sure all employees strictly follow their guidelines. Directive leadership is often compared to autocratic style of leadership or transactional leadership styles. This type of leadership often exclude employees and others from the decision making process. Directive leaders pay close attention to what their employees do and often motivate them through disciplinary actions. In addition, they use transactional methods like reward and punishment to drive results. Leaders who used this type of leadership styles often experience high turnover rate of employees.

Transformational leaders are leader who inspire and motivate their followers through collaboration and communication. Instead of adopting control with written processes, transformational leaders use inspiration and motivation to produce results. Other types of leadership styles are servant leadership in which authority is shared and the leader act as a facilitator. The theory of servant leadership was developed by Robert Greenleaf through the reading of Hesse’s book called Journey to the East. The story, as narrated by Robert Greenleaf state that there was a group of men who were travelling together and among them was a man called Leo who does all the chores for the group but also guide them while lifting their spirit through his singing. Since Leo has such a strong influence, the group did not realize his importance to the group until he disappeared. Going without Leo is when they realized that he is more than just a servant and an entertainer but in fact was the person who kept them together and in essence the leader of the group. This is an indication that great leaders are servants first before anything else.

 Ethical leadership style is a combination of authority; power and this type of leaders tend to carry more power and influence than other employees. Even though, organizational policy may provide the standard by which every employee is required to adhere to, it is the ethics of the leadership that most influences employee behavior in the organization.

The essence for ethical leadership is leading by example and treating all employees fairly and equally. Ethical leaders are often transparent and honest with employees. They demonstrate behavior through their interaction and actions with employees. They take interest in employees and care how employees feel emotionally.

In order to drive performance and efficiency in today’s organizations, leaders must be able to effectively inspire and motivate their employees. Leaders must be aware that, to bring out the best in people, you must think the best about them. If you expect the best from people and develop attainable yet challenging performance objectives, your performance expectations will look as a self-fulfilling glorification. As a leader, you must trust your employees, be honest with them, treat the right, be fair, reward and recognize, know who they are as people and not as numbers, teach and coach them to be the best they can be.

          What is your leadership style?