Leadership Styles-which one suits whom-

What is the Difference between a “BOSS” and a “LEADER”?

Leaders are people that are responsible for inspiring, guiding and leading a group of people on a path for a common cause. A boss is a person who is in charge of the work place.

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. As seen by the employees, it includes the total pattern of explicit and implicit action of their leaders

(Newstrom, Davis, 1993)

•The authoritarian leadership style or autocratic leader keeps strict, close control over followers by keeping close regulation of policies and procedures given to followers.

•There is a clear division between the leader and the follower.

• Authoritarian Traits: sets goals individually, engages primarily in one-way and downward communication, controls discussion with followers,and donates interaction

• Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.

• Authoritarian leaders make decisions independently with little or no input from the rest of the group.

The democratic leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members and by practicing social equality

• Participative leaders encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say over the decision-making process. Group members feel engaged in the process and are more motivated and creative

• This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. A leader is not expected to know everything—this is why you employ knowledgeable and skilled people.

•The laissez-faire leadership style is where all the rights and power to make decisions is fully given to the worker

• The laissez-faire style is sometimes described as a "hands off" leadership style because the leader delegates the tasks to their followers while providing little or no direction to the followers

• Laissez-faire leaders allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work. It allows followers a high degree of autonomy and self-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested.

• This is an effective style to use when:– Followers are highly skilled, experienced, and educated.– Followers have pride in their work and the drive to do it

successfully on their own.– Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are

being used.– Followers are trustworthy and experienced.

• Amount of time available.• Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect?• Who has the information—you, the employees, or both?• How well your employees are trained and how well you know

the task.• Internal conflicts.• Stress levels.• Type of task, such as structured, unstructured, complicated,

or simple?• Laws or established procedures

(Max Weber in 1947 and Bernard Bass 1981)• Mainly used by management, transactional leaders focus their

leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments.

• This style offers some benefits. For example, it clarifies everyone's roles and responsibilities. And, because transactional leadership judges team members on performance, people who are ambitious or who are motivated by external rewards – including compensation – often thrive.

• The downside of this style is that, on its own, it can be chilling and amoral, and it can lead to high staff turnover. It also has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work.

• As a result, team members can often do little to improve their job satisfaction.

• A transformational leader is a type of person in which the leader is not limited by his or her followers' perception.

• The main objective is to work to change or transform his or her followers' needsand redirect their thinking. Leaders that follow the transformation style of leading, challenge and inspire their followers with a sense of purpose and excitement. (Schultz and Schultz)

• Transformational leaders inspire their team members because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict-resolution skills . This leads to high productivity and engagement.

Other Leadership Styles Include:

• Charismatic Leadership• Bureaucratic Leadership• Servant Leadership