Styles Of Leadership

Styles of Leadership

There are many different styles of leadership. Any leader can utilize any style, but usually more than one style is used and is customized to the situation. This is generally the most effective approach. (Syque) However, on their own the styles of leadership can be just as effective. A transactional leader guides or motivates their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. This style of leadership allows the leader to use rewards and recognize behaviours that will improve the workplace. This style of leadership results in performance that meets expectations however, rarely does an employee exceed the expectations. Another style of leadership is transformational leadership. These leaders inspire followers to go beyond their own self-interests for the good of the organization, and have a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers. (Langton and Robbins 399-400) The visionary leader moves people towards a shared vision, as if to tell them where to go but not how to get there - thus motivating them to struggle forwards. They openly share information with the employees, hence giving knowledge power to others. The leaders can sometimes fail when trying to motivate more experienced experts or peers. This is because they have such an open relationship with them which would make everyone feel almost too equal. This style of leadership is best when a new direction is needed. Overall, this style has a very strong impact on the climate in a company. (Syque) Visionary leadership increases efficiency by moving decision-making responsibility to the frontline. Competence in the workplace is achieved with limited supervision from the boss or leader. To make front line responsibility effective, leaders must give workers opportunity to develop quality decision-making skills and they need to learn to trust them. (Webb) The coaching leader connects the wants of an employee to organizational goals of the business, holding long conversations with these employees that reach beyond the workplace, helping people find strengths and weaknesses and tying these to career aspirations and actions. They are good at delegating challenging assignments, and demonstrating faith that demands justification and which leads to high levels of loyalty. If this style of leadership is done poorly, it can look like micromanaging. It is best used when individuals need to build long-term capabilities. It has a highly positive impact on the atmosphere in the place of work. The affiliative leader produces people connections and thus harmony within the organization. It is a very collaborative style which focuses on emotional needs over work needs. When done poorly, it avoids emotionally distressing situations such as negative feedback and can lead to negative emotions in the office. It often coincides with visionary leadership. It is best used for healing rifts and getting through stressful situations since it influences harmony in the organization. It has a positive impact on climate and on the emotions inside the employment. The democratic leader acts to value inputs and commitment via participation, listening to both the bad and the good news that is brought to them. When the leader does this poorly, it looks like lots of listening but very little effective action being done about the problems. This style also has a positive impact on the workplace climate. The pace-setting leader builds challenging and exciting goals for people, expecting excellence and often exemplifying it themselves. They identify the poor performers and demand more of them to prove whether they are going to be able to pull their weight. If necessary, they will roll up their sleeves and rescue the situation themselves. They tend to be low on guidance and expect people to know what to do and how to handle situations. They get positive short term results but over the long term this style can lead to exhaustion and decline since they are constantly emotionally pushing the employees. This style lacks Emotional Intelligence, especially in self-management. A classic problem happens when the 'star