Leadership Styles

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing

direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin
(1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of
leadership. This early study has been very influential and
established three major leadership styles. The three major styles
of leadership are (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973):

o Authoritarian or autocratic
o Participative or democratic
o Delegative or Free Reign

Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them
normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style.

Authoritarian (autocratic)

I want both of you to. . .

This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they
want done and how they want it accompished, without getting the
advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to
use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem,
you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.

Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling,

using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing
their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an
abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It
has no place in a leader's repertoire.

The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare

occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more
commitment and motivation from your employees, then you
should use the participative style.

Participative (democratic)

Let's work together to solve this. . .

This style involves the leader including one or more employees

in the decision making process (determining what to do and how
to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making
authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a
sign of strength that your employees will respect.

This is normally used when you have part of the information, and
your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not
expected to know everything -- this is why you employ
k n o w l e d g e a b l e and s k i l l f u l employees. Using this style is
of mutual benefit -- it allows them to become part of the team and
allows you to make better decisions.

Delegative (free reign)

You two take care of the problem while I go. . .

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the

decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the
decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able
to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done
and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set
 priorities and delegate certain tasks.

This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when
things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully
trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to
use it, however, use it wisely!

Leadership Styles Overview

When developing your leadership skills, one must soon confront an important practical question, "What
leadership styles work best for me and my organization?" To answer this question, it's best to understand
that there are many from which to choose and as part of your leadership development effort, you should
consider developing as many leadership styles as possible.

Three Classic Leadership Styles

One dimension of has to do with control and one's perception of how much control one should give to
people. The laissez faire style implies low control, the autocratic style high control and the participative lies
somewhere in between.

The Laissez Faire Leadership Style

The style is largely a "hands off" view that tends to minimize the amount of direction and face time required.
Works well if you have highly trained and highly motivated direct reports.

The Autocratic Leadership Style

The style has its advocates, but it is falling out of favor in many countries. Some people have argued that the
style is popular with today's CEO's, who have much in common with feudal lords in Medieval Europe.

The Participative Leadership Style

It's hard to order and demand someone to be creative, perform as a team, solve complex problems, improve
quality, and provide outstanding customer service. The style presents a happy medium between over
controlling (micromanaging) and not being engaged and tends to be seen in organizations that must
innovate to prosper.

Determining the Best Leadership Style

Situational Leadership. In the 1950s, management theorists from Ohio State University and the University of
Michigan published a series of studies to determine whether leaders should be more task or relationship
(people) oriented. The importance of the research cannot be over estimated since leaders tend to have a
dominant style; a leadership style they use in a wide variety of situations.

Surprisingly, the research discovered that there is no one best style: leaders must adjust their leadership
style to the situation as well as to the people being led.
The Emergent Leadership Style

Contrary to the belief of many, groups do not automatically accept a new "boss" as leader. We see a
number of ineffective managers who didn't know the behaviors to use when one taking over a new group.

The Transactional Leadership Style

The approach emphasizes getting things done within the umbrella of the status quo; almost in opposition to
the goals of the transformational leadership. It's considered to be a "by the book" approach in which the
person works within the rules. As such, it's commonly seen in large, bureaucratic organizations.

The Transformational Leadership Style

The primary focus of this leadership style is to make change happen in:

• Our Self,
• Others,
• Groups, and
• Organizations

Charisma is a special leadership style commonly associated with transformational leadership. While
extremely powerful, it is extremely hard to teach.

Visionary Leadership, The leadership style focuses on how the leader defines the future for followers and
moves them toward it.

From the short review above, one can see that there are many different aspects to being a great leader; a
role requiring one to play many different leadership styles to be successful.