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Dissonant Basics: The Commanding Leader
Dissonant Basics: The Commanding Leader
Styles
The two styles Goleman linked to dissonant leadership were pacesetting and
commanding. A pacesetter focuses heavily on getting employees to constantly
ramp up efficiency and performance in meeting deadlines. While this approach may
work in crunch time, it can wear on employees as a constant leadership style. A
commander simply operates with a highly authoritative style. He expects
employees to complete tasks quickly and without questioning. This conflicts with
contemporary leadership approaches emphasizing empowerment and employee
involvement.
The commanding leader of the six emotional leadership styles can also be
referred to as the carrot and stick approach. It means that when a leader
tells an employee to execute a specific task, it is expected that the
employee completes the assignment without asking questions and
without complaining.
Many times, when this type of leadership style is utilized, it is only effective
for a short period of time. Sometimes leaders must perform their job as
the commanding leader because it could be that the previous assignments
failed.
The members of a team are next expected to deliver the desired quality of
work. Leaders expect the team to work independently and usually only
require weekly or monthly updates about the status of a project. Team
members are because of their independence expected to deliver excellent
results.
Leaders with this leadership style usually work in a highly competent team
with team members who are highly engaged. The pacesetting leader of
Daniel Goleman Leadership Styles / the six emotional leadership styles
utilizes this style to stimulate the group to become more competent in
what the team does.