The main
leadership styles include:
1.
Transactional leadership.
2.
Autocratic leadership.
3.
Bureaucratic leadership.
4.
Charismatic leadership.
5.
Democratic/participative leadership.
6.
Laissez-faire leadership.
7.
Task-oriented leadership.
8.
People/relations-oriented leadership.
9.
Servant leadership.
10.
Transformational leadership.
By
learning about the pros and cons of each style, you can adapt your approach to
your situation.
Adapting Your Approach to Leadership
In the Christian
Faith, a leadership style called "transformational leadership" is
often the most effective approach to use. Transformational leaders have
integrity, they inspire people with a shared vision of the future, they set
clear goals and motivate people towards them, they manage delivery, and they
communicate well with their teams.
However,
leadership is not "one size fits all" thing; often, you must adapt
your style to fit a situation or a specific group. This is why it's useful to
gain a thorough understanding of other leadership styles; after all, the more
approaches you're familiar with, the more tools you'll be able to use to lead
effectively.
Let's
take a deeper look at some of the leadership styles that you can use.
1.
Transactional Leadership
This
leadership style starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their
leader when they accept a job. The "transaction" usually involves the
organization paying team members in return for their effort and compliance. The
leader has a right to "punish" team members if their work doesn't
meet an appropriate standard.
Although
this might sound controlling and paternalistic, transactional leadership offers
some benefits. For one, this leadership style clarifies everyone's roles and
responsibilities. Another benefit is that, 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 leadership style is that team members can do little to improve
their job satisfaction. It can feel stifling, and it can lead to high staff
turnover. Transactional leadership is really a type of management, not a true
leadership style, because the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious
limitations for knowledge-based or creative work. However, it can be effective
in other situations.
2.
Autocratic Leadership
Autocratic
leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where leaders have
complete power over their people. Workers and team
members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would be in
the team's or the organization's best interest.
The
benefit of autocratic leadership is that it is incredibly efficient. Decisions
are made quickly, and work gets done. The downside is that most people resent
being treated this way. Therefore, autocratic leadership often leads to high
levels of absenteeism. However, the style can be effective for some routine and
unskilled jobs: in these situations, the advantages of control may outweigh the
disadvantages. Autocratic leadership is often best used in crises, when
decisions must be made quickly and without dissent. For instance, the military
often uses an autocratic leadership style; top commanders are responsible for
quickly making complex decisions, which allows troops to focus their attention
and energy on performing their allotted tasks and missions.
3.
Bureaucratic Leadership
Bureaucratic
leaders work "by the book".
They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures
precisely. This is an appropriate leadership style for work involving serious
safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances, or at
dangerous heights) or where large sums of money are involved. Bureaucratic
leadership is also useful in organizations where employees do routine tasks (as
in manufacturing).
The
downside of this leadership style is that it's ineffective in teams and
organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity, or innovation. Much of the
time, bureaucratic leaders achieve their position because of their ability to
conform to and uphold rules, not because of their qualifications or expertise.
This can cause resentment when team members don't value their expertise or
advice.
4.
Charismatic Leadership
A
charismatic leadership style can resemble transformational leadership because
these leaders inspire enthusiasm in their teams and are energetic in motivating
others to move forward. This excitement and commitment from teams is an
enormous benefit. The difference between charismatic leaders and
transformational leaders lies in their intention. Transformational leaders want
to transform their teams and organizations. Charismatic leaders are often
focused on themselves, and may not want to change anything.
The
downside to charismatic leaders is that they can believe more in themselves
than in their teams. This can create the risk that a project or even an entire
organization might collapse if the leader leaves. A charismatic leader might
believe that she can do no wrong, even when others are warning her about the
path she's on; this feeling of invincibility can ruin a team or an
organization.
Also, in
the followers' eyes, success is directly connected to the presence of the
charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great
responsibility, and it needs a long-term commitment from the leader.
5.
Democratic/Participative Leadership
Democratic
leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the
decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and team members are often
highly engaged in projects and decisions. There are many benefits of democratic
leadership. Team members tend to have high job satisfaction and are productive
because they're more involved in decisions. This style also helps develop
people's skills. Team members feel in control of their destiny, so they're
motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward.
Because
participation takes time, this approach can slow decision-making, but the
result is often good. The approach can be most suitable when working as a team
is essential, and when quality is more important than efficiency or
productivity.
The downside
of democratic leadership is that it can often hinder situations where speed or
efficiency is essential. For instance, during a crisis, a team can waste
valuable time gathering people's input. Another downside is that some team
members might not have the knowledge or expertise to provide high quality
input.
6.
Laissez-Faire Leadership
This
French phrase means "leave it be"
and it describes leaders who allow their people to work on their own. This type
of leadership can also occur naturally, when managers don't have sufficient
control over their work and their people. Laissez-faire leaders may give their team’s
complete freedom to do their work and set their own deadlines. They provide team support with resources and advice, if
needed, but otherwise don't get involved.
This
leadership style can be effective if the leader monitors performance and gives
feedback to team members regularly. It is most likely to be effective when
individual team members are experienced, skilled, self-starters.
The main
benefit of laissez-faire leadership is that giving team members so much
autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction and increased productivity. The
downside is that it can be damaging if team members don't manage their time
well or if they don't have the knowledge, skills, or motivation to do their
work effectively.
7.
Task-Oriented Leadership
Task-oriented
leaders focus only on getting the job done and can be autocratic. They actively
define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan,
organize, and monitor work. These leaders also perform other key tasks, such as
creating and maintaining standards for performance.
The
benefit of task-oriented leadership is that it ensures that deadlines are met,
and it's especially useful for team members who don't manage their time well. However,
because task-oriented leaders don't tend to think much about their team's
well-being, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic
leadership, including causing motivation and retention problems.
8.
People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership
With
people-oriented leadership, leaders are totally focused on organizing,
supporting, and developing the people on their teams. This is a participatory
style and tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration. This is
the opposite of task-oriented leadership.
People-oriented
leaders treat everyone on the team equally. They're friendly and approachable,
they pay attention to the welfare of everyone in the group, and they make
themselves available whenever team members need help or advice.
The
benefit of this leadership style is that people-oriented leaders create teams
that everyone wants to be part of. Team members are often more productive and
willing to take risks, because they know that the leader will provide support
if they need it. The downside is that some leaders can take this approach too
far; they may put the development of their team above tasks or project
directives.
9.
Servant Leadership
This
term, describes a leader often not formally recognized as such. When someone at
any level within an organization leads simply by meeting the needs of the team,
he or she can be described as a "servant leader."
In many
ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership because the whole
team tends to be involved in decision making. However, servant leaders often
"lead from behind," preferring to stay out of the limelight and
letting their team accept recognition for their hard work.
Supporters
of the servant leadership model suggest that it's a good way to move ahead in a
world where values are increasingly important, and where servant leaders can
achieve power because of their values, ideals, and ethics. This is an approach that can help
to create a positive corporate culture and can lead to high morale among team
members. However, other people believe that in competitive leadership
situations, people who practice servant leadership can find themselves left
behind by leaders using other leadership styles. This leadership style also
takes time to apply correctly: it's ill-suited in situations where you have to
make quick decisions or meet tight deadlines.
Although
you can use servant leadership in many situations, it's often most practical in
politics, or in positions where leaders are elected to serve a team, committee,
organization, or community.
10.
Transformational Leadership
As we
discussed earlier in this article, transformation leadership is often the best
leadership style to use in business situations.
Transformational
leaders are inspiring because they expect the best from everyone on their team
as well as themselves. This leads to high productivity and engagement from
everyone in their team. The downside of transformational leadership is that
while the leader's enthusiasm is passed onto the team, he or she can need to be
supported by "detail people."
That's
why, in many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership
styles are useful. Transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work
is done reliably, while transformational leaders look after initiatives that
add new value. It's also important to use other leadership styles when
necessary – this will depend on the people you're leading and the situation
that you're in.