leadership and different styles

5/24/2018 Leadership and Different Styles

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Leadership and Different Styles

Leadershiphas been described as "a process of social influence in which one person can enlist

the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task", although there are

alternative definitions of leadership.

For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow or as

somebody who guides or directs others, while others define leadership as "organizing a group

of people to achieve a common goal".

Leadership Style Frameworks

Lewin's Leadership Styles

Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his leadership styles framework in the 1930s, and it

provided the foundation of many of the approaches that followed afterwards. He argued

that there are three major leadership styles:

1. Autocratic leadersmake decisions without consulting their team members, even if theirinput would be useful. This can be appropriate when you need to make decisions

quickly, when there's no need for team input, and when team agreement isn't necessary

for a successful outcome. However, this style can be demoralizing, and it can lead to

high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover.2. Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the

decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and people are often highly

engaged in projects and decisions. As a result, team members tend to have high job

satisfaction and high productivity. This is not always an effective style to use, though,

when you need to make a quick decision.

3. Laissez-faire leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do theirwork, and how they set their deadlines. They provide support with resources and

advice if needed, but otherwise they don't get involved. This autonomy can lead to high

job satisfaction, but it can be damaging if team members don't manage their time well,or if they don't have the knowledge, skills, or self-motivation to do their work

effectively. (Laissez-faire leadership can also occur when managers don't have control

over their work and their people.)

Lewin's framework is popular and useful, because it encourages managers to be less

autocratic than they might instinctively be.


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The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid

The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid was published in 1964, and it highlights the best

leadership style to use, based on your concern for your people and your concern for

production/tasks.

The Managerial Grid is based on two behavioral dimensions:

Concern for PeopleThis is the degree to which a leader considers the needsof team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when

deciding how best to accomplish a task.

Concern for Production This is the degree to which a leader emphasizesconcrete objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when

deciding how best to accomplish a task.

Using the axis to plot leadership concerns for production versus concerns for people,

Blake and Mouton defined the following five leadership styles:

Impoverished LeadershipLow Production/Low PeopleThis leader is mostly ineffective. He/she has neither a high regard for creating systems

for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and

motivating. The result is disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.


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Country Club LeadershipHigh People/Low ProductionThis style of leader is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members of

his/her team. These people operate under the assumption that as long as team

members are happy and secure then they will work hard. What tends to result is a work

environment that is very relaxed and fun but where production suffers due to lack ofdirection and control.

Produce or Perish LeadershipHigh Production/Low PeopleAlso known as Authoritarian or Compliance Leaders, people in this category believe that

employees are simply a means to an end. Employee needs are always secondary to the

need for efficient and productive workplaces. This type of leader is very autocratic, has

strict work rules, policies, and procedures, and views punishment as the most effective

means to motivate employees.

Middle-of-the-Road LeadershipMedium Production/Medium PeopleThis style seems to be a balance of the two competing concerns, and it may at first

appear to be an ideal compromise. Therein lies the problem, though: When you

compromise, you necessarily give away a bit of each concern, so that neither production

nor people needs are fully met. Leaders who use this style settle for average

performance and often believe that this is the most anyone can expect.

Team LeadershipHigh Production/High PeopleAccording to the Blake Mouton model, this is the best managerial style. These leaders

stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly.

The premise here is that employees understand the organizations purpose and are

involved in determining production needs. When employees are committed to, and

have a stake in the organizations success, their needs and production needs coincide.

This creates a team environment based on trust and respect, which leads to high

satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.

Applying the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid:

Being aware of the various approaches is the first step in understanding and improving

how well you perform as a manager. It is important to understand how you currently

operate, so that you can then identify ways of becoming effective in both areas.

Step One: Identify your leadership style

Think of some recent situations where you were the leader.


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For each of these situations, place yourself on the grid according to where youbelieve you fit.

Step Two: Identify areas of improvement and develop your leadership skills

Look at your current leadership approach, and think about whether it suits thecontext.

Look at ways that you could improve. Are you settling for middle of the roadbecause it is easier than reaching for more?

Identify ways to get the skills you need to reach the Team Leadership position.These may include involving others inproblem solving or improving how

youcommunicate with them, if you feel you are too task-oriented. Or it may

mean becoming clearer aboutscheduling ormonitoring project progress if you

tend to focus too much on people.

Continually monitor your performance and watch for situations where you slipback into bad old habits.

Step Three: Put the Grid in Context

It is important to recognize that the Team Leadership style isnt always the mosteffective approach in every situation. While the benefits of democratic and

participative management are widely accepted, there are times that call for more

attention in one area than another.

If your company is in the midst of a merger or some other significant change, it canbe acceptable to place a higher emphasis on people than on production. Likewise,

when faced with an economic hardship or physical risk, people concerns may beplaced on the back burner, for the short-term at least, to achieve high productivity

and efficiency.

With a people-oriented leadership style, you focus on organizing, supporting, and

developing your team members. This participatory style encourages good teamwork

and creative collaboration.

With task-oriented leadership, you focus on getting the job done. You define the work

and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work.
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The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory

First published in 1969, the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory argues that

you need to use different leadership styles depending on the maturity of your team

members. The model argues that with relatively immature individuals, you need a more

directing approach, while with higher maturity people; you need a more participative or

delegating leadership style.

You can use this model in most business situations, regardless of whether you want to

build a new team or develop an existing one.

According to Hersey and Blanchard, there are four main leadership styles:

Telling (S1)Leaders tell their people what to do and how to do it. Selling (S2) Leaders provide information and direction, but there's more

communication with followers. Leaders "sell" their message to get people on

board.

Participating (S3)Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction.The leader works with the team, and shares decision-making responsibilities.

Delegating (S4) Leaders pass most of the responsibility onto the follower orgroup. The leaders still monitor progress, but they're less involved in decisions.

As you can see, styles S1 and S2 are focused on getting the task done. Styles S3 and S4

are more concerned with developing team members' abilities to work independently.

Maturity Levels

According to Hersey and Blanchard, knowing when to use each style is largely dependent

on the maturity of the person or group you're leading. They break maturity down into

four different levels:

M1People at this level of maturity are at the bottom level of the scale. Theylack the knowledge, skills, or confidence to work on their own, and they often

need to be pushed to take the task on.

M2at this level, followers might be willing to work on the task, but they stilldon't have the skills to complete it successfully.

M3Here, followers are ready and willing to help with the task. They have moreskills than the M2 group, but they're still not confident in their abilities.

M4These followers are able to work on their own. They have high confidenceand strong skills, and they're committed to the task.

The Hersey-Blanchard model maps each leadership style to each maturity level, asshown below.


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Maturity Level Most Appropriate Leadership Style

M1: Low maturity S1: Telling/directing

M2: Mediummaturity, limited skills

S2: Selling/coaching

M3: Medium

maturity, higher skills

but lacking confidence

S3: Participating/supporting

M4: High maturity S4: Delegating

To use this model, reflect on the maturity of individuals within your team. The tableabove shows which leadership style Hersey and Blanchard recommend for people with

that level of maturity.

Path-Goal Theory

You may also have to think about what your team members want and need. This is

where Path-Goal Theory published in 1971is useful.

The Path-Goal model is a theory based on specifying a leader's style or

behavior that best fits the employee and work environment in order to achieve

goals (House, Mitchell, 1974). The goal is to increase an employee's motivation,

empowerment, and satisfaction so that they become productive members of

the organization.

Path-Goal is based on Vroom's (1964)expectancy theory in which an individual

will act in a certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed

by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the

individual. The path-goal theory was first introduced by Martin Evans (1970)and then further developed by House (1971).

The path-goal theory can best be thought of as a process in which leaders

select specific behaviors that are best suited to the employees' needs and the

working environment so that they may best guide the employees through
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their path in the obtainment of their daily work activities (goals) (Northouse,

2013).

While Path-Goal Theory is not an exact process, it generally follows these basic

steps as shown in the graphic below:

1. Determine the employee and environmental characteristics2. Select a leadership style3. Focus on motivational factors that will help the employee succeed

With Path-Goal Theory, you can identify the best leadership approach to use, based onyour people's needs, the task that they're doing, and the environment that they're

working in.


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Six Emotional Leadership Styles

Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, in Primal Leadership, describe six

styles of leading that have different effects on the emotions of the target followers.

These are styles, not types. Any leader can use any style, and a good mix that is

customised to the situation is generally the most effective approach.

The Visionary LeaderThe Visionary Leader moves people towards a shared vision, telling them where to go

but not how to get there - thus motivating them to struggle forwards. They openly

share information, hence giving knowledge power to others.

They can fail when trying to motivate more experienced experts or peers.

This style is best when a new direction is needed.

Overall, it has a very strong impact on the climate.

The Coaching LeaderThe Coaching Leader connects wants to organizational goals, holding long conversations

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, demonstrating faith that demands justification and which leads to high

levels of loyalty.

Done badly, this style looks like micromanaging.

It is best used when individuals need to build long-term capabilities.

It has a highly positive impact on the climate.

The Affiliative LeaderThe Affiliative Leader creates people connections and thus harmony within the

organization. It is a very collaborative style which focuses on emotional needs over

work needs.

When done badly, it avoids emotionally distressing situations such as negative

feedback. Done well, it is often used alongside visionary leadership.

It is best used for healing rifts and getting through stressful situations.

It has a positive impact on climate.

The Democratic LeaderThe Democratic Leader acts to value inputs and commitment via participation, listening

to both the bad and the good news.

When done badly, it looks like lots of listening but very little effective action.

It is best used to gain buy-in or when simple inputs are needed ( when youare

uncertain).

It has a positive impact on climate.


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The Pace-setting LeaderThe Pace-setting Leader builds challenge and exciting goals for people, expecting

excellence and often exemplifying it themselves. They identify poor performers and

demand more of them. If necessary, they will roll up their sleeves and rescue the situation

themselves.

They tend to be low on guidance, expecting people to know what to do. They get short

term results but over the long term this style can lead to exhaustion and decline.

Done badly, it lacks Emotional Intelligence, especially self-management. A classic problem

happens when the 'star techie' gets promoted.

It is best used for results from a motivated and competent team.

It often has a very negative effect on climate (because it is often poorly done).

The Commanding Leader

The Commanding Leader soothes fears and gives clear directions by his or her powerful

stance, commanding and expecting full compliance (agreement is not needed). They need

emotional self-control for success and can seem cold and distant.

This approach is best in times of crisis when you need unquestioned rapid action and with

problem employees who do not respond to other methods.

The theory highlights the strengths and weaknesses of six leadership styles that you can use

Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, and Commanding. It also shows how

each style can affect the emotions of your team members.

Flamholtz and Randle's Leadership Style Matrix

First published in 2007, Flamholtz and Randle's Leadership Style Matrix shows you the best

leadership style to use, based on how capable people are of working autonomously, and how

creative or "programmable" the task is.

The Leadership Style Matrix


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From "Growing Pains: Transitioning From an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed

Firm" by Eric G. Flamholtz and and Yvonne Randle. Fourth Edition. 2007. Reproduced with

permission of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

The Leadership Style Matrix is divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant lists two leadership

styles that are best suited for a specific situation and person (or group).

The Y-axis defines the "programmability" of the task. A programmable task has specific steps or

instructions to complete. A non-programmable task is more creative; it's up to the individual to

decide how best to accomplish it.

The X-axis describes the individual's capability and preference for autonomy. Several factors

influence this, including education, skill, motivation, and their desire for feedback, interaction,

or independence.

For instance, a person with a high level of education, skill, motivation and independence islikely to want autonomy. Someone with low motivation and skill will need and may want

more feedback and interaction, so that he or she can complete the task successfully.


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The matrix is divided into four quadrants each quadrant identifies two possible leadership

styles that will be effective for a given situation, ranging from "autocratic/benevolent

autocratic" to "consensus/laissez-faire."

Transformational Leadership

These leadership style frameworks are all useful in different situations, however, in business,

"transformational leadership " is often the most effective leadership style to use. (This was first

published in 1978, and was then further developed in 1985.)

Transformational leaders have integrity and high emotional intelligence . They motivate

people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. They're also typically

self-aware , authentic , empathetic , and humble .

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.

However, leadership is not a "one size fits all" thing; often, you must adapt your approach to fit

the situation. This is why it's useful to develop a thorough understanding of other leadership

frameworks and styles; after all, the more approaches you're familiar with, the more flexible

you can be.

Specific Leadership Styles

As well as understanding the frameworks that you can use to be a more effective leader, and

knowing what it takes to be a transformational leader, it's also useful to learn about more

general leadership styles, and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.


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Let's take a look at some other leadership styles that are interesting, but don't fit with any of

the frameworks above.

Note:

Remember, not all of these styles will have a positive effect on your team members, either in

the short or long term. (See our article on Dunham and Pierce's Leadership Model for more on

how your actions as a leader will affect your team.)

Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures

precisely.

This leadership style is appropriate for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with

machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights), or with large sums of money.

Bureaucratic leadership is also useful for managing employees who perform routine tasks.

This style is much less effective in teams and organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity, or

innovation.

Charismatic Leadership

A charismatic leadership style resembles transformational leadership: both types of leaders

inspire and motivate their team members.

The difference lies in their intent. Transformational leaders want to transform their teams and

organizations, while leaders who rely on charisma often focus on themselves and their own

ambitions, and they may not want to change anything.


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Charismatic leaders might believe that they can do no wrong, even when others warn them

about the path that they're on. This feeling of invincibility can severely damage a team or an

organization, as was shown in the 2008 financial crisis.

Servant Leadership

A "servant leader" is someone, regardless of level, who leads simply by meeting the needs of

the team. The term sometimes describes a person without formal recognition as a leader.

These people often lead by example. They have high integrity and lead with generosity . Their

approach can create a positive corporate culture, and it can lead to high morale among team

members.

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 .

However, others believe that people who practice servant leadership can find themselves "left

behind" by other leaders, particularly in competitive situations.

This leadership style also takes time to apply correctly: it's ill-suited to situations where you

have to make quick decisions or meet tight deadlines.

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


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return for their effort and compliance on a short-term task. The leader has a right to "punish"

team members if their work doesn't meet an appropriate standard.

Transactional leadership is present in many business leadership situations, and it does offersome 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 rewardsincluding compensationoften 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.

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