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Different
Types of Leadership Styles
Understanding the many different types of
leadership styles is a necessary first step in leadership
development.
By
Murray Johannsen
Also see our transformational philosophy and transformational leadership programs
A
groom used
to spend whole days in currycombing and rubbing down his
Horse, but at the same time stole his oats and sold them
for his own profit. “Alas!” said the Horse, “if
you really wish me to be in good condition, you should
groom me less, and feed me more.”
Aesop's
Fables
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.
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 theBest
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.
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 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
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.
Strategic Leadership is
practiced by the military services such as the US Army, US
Air Force, and many large corporations.
It stresses the competitive nature of running an organization
and being able to out fox and out wit the competition.
Team
Leadership. A few years ago, a large corporation
decided that supervisors were no longer needed and those
in charge suddenly were "team leaders." Since
there also were no departments; workers suddenly became "a
team." Today, companies have gotten smarter about
teams, but it still takes leadership to transition a
group into a team.
Influence Oriented Leadership Styles. Here
one looks at the behaviors associated how one exercises
influence. For example, does the person mostly punish?
Do they know how to reward?
Cross-Cultural Leadership. Not
all individuals can adapt to the leadership styles expected
in a different
culture; whether that culture is organizational or
national.
Coaching. A great coach
is definitely a leader who also possess a unique gift--the
ability to teach and train.
Level 5 Leadership. This
term was coined by Jim Collins in his book Good
to Great: Why Some Company’s Make the Leap
and Other Don’t. As Collins says in his book, "We
were surprised, shocked really, to discover the types
of leadership required for turning a good company into
a great one."
Servant
Leadership. Some leaders have put the needs of
their followers first. For example, the motto of the
Los Angeles Police Department, "To Protect and
Serve." reflects this philosophy of service. One
suspects these leaders are rare in business.
Our
knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily
be infinite."
—Karl
Popper, Austrian philosopher
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