Leadership Styles

Learning Organization Series

June 12, 2006

By: Khaled Ayesh, MBA Management

HR Development Expert

Leadership

Most companies don’t die because they are wrong.

Most die because management doesn’t commit themselves.

Andy Grove, CEO, Intel

POLITICS AND LEADERSHIP

Things which matter mostshould never be at the mercyof things which matter least.

--Goethe

If your only tool is a hammer, the whole world

is a nail.

How do you define the leadership?

It is difficult to define!!!!

People

Task

SituationOrganization

EnvironmentalFactors

Leadership Style

Purpose of leadership

• Generate competitive advantages

• Focusing & motivating a group

• Being accountable & responsible for the group

• A leader should: – Provide continuity and momentum – Be flexible in allowing changes of direction

What is the good leader role?

Success

Growth

Stability

Survival

Crisis

What’s my role?

Results of good Leadership

• Low illness percentage

• Low fluctuation / turnover

• Feeling of belongingness

• More innovations

• Better flow of information

• Faster results

Leadership Styles• Authoritarian• Democratic• Autocratic• Political• Laissez-Faire• Paternalistic• Charismatic• Traditional• Jungle Fighter• Transformational

Authoritarian Style (Structural Frame)

• Relates to relationships and formal roles in the organization.

• Charts, policies, procedures, authority, and responsibility guide the leader’s decision and behavior.

• Emphasis on goals, roles, and formal relationships.– Develop a strategy – Focus on implementation– Continually experiment, evaluate, and adapt– Do their homework

Democratic Style (HRs)• Relies on the needs of the members

without looking at the final product.• Believes in people & communicate

that belief.• Are visible and accessible.• Consultative: Consulting before taking decisions• Persuasive: Taking decisions & persuading others that the

decision is correct

• Fitting the organization to the people & meeting the needs of followers become the key to effectiveness of the democratic frame.

• The organization should design conditions allowing people to accomplish their own goals along with organizational objectives.

Autocratic Style• Leader makes decisions without reference to

anyone else• High degree of dependency on the leader• Can create de-motivation and alienation of staff• May be valuable in some types of business where

decisions need to be made quickly and decisively

Political Style

• Focuses on the struggle for scarce resources in an organization.

• “Every man for himself”

Laissez-Faire Style• ‘Let it be’ – the leadership responsibilities

are shared by all.

• Useful in businesses where creative ideas are important.

• Can be highly motivational, as people have control over their working life

• Can make coordination and decision making time-consuming & lacking in overall direction– Relies on good team work– Relies on good interpersonal relations

Paternalistic Style

• Leader acts as a ‘father figure’

• Makes decision but may consult• Believes in the need to support staff

Charismatic Style• Followers make attributions of heroic

or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.

• People working for charismatic leaders are motivated to exert extra work effort and, because they like & respect their leaders, express greater satisfaction.

• Charisma useful when the followers’ task has an ideological component or when the environment involves a high degree of stress and uncertainty.

Traditional Style (Mokhtar)

• Focuses on shared norms, visions & social values.

• Uses a lot of ceremonies, traditions, and symbols.

• Tradition and symbolic leaders interpret. experience, use symbols to capture. attention, and discover and communicate a vision.

Jungle Fighter Style

• Gives guidance and direction• Abilities

– Different management styles– Clarification– Fairness– Self-esteem– Creativity– Communication and

organization skills– Sacrifice to survive

The Gladiator Movie

Transformational Style• Stimulates interest among followers to view work

from new perspectives

• Generates awareness of the mission

• Develops colleagues and followers to higher levels of ability and potential

• Motivates colleagues and followers to look beyond their own interests to those of the group

• Does their job via “the four I’s”:– Idealized influence– Inspirational motivation– Intellectual stimulation– Individualized consideration

Famous Leaders

Traits of the Excellent Leader

• A vision and purpose.• Clear goals.• Strong commitment.• Flexibility.• An understanding of

change.• Active listening skills.• Confidence to take risks.

• Knowledgeable about the total organization.

• Able to learn from mistakes.

• Excellent communicators & listeners.

• Able to speak clearly & effectively.

• Resourceful.• Realistic.

Continuum of Leader Behavior

Prentice Hall, 2002

Management vs. Leadership• Doing things right• Rules & herachies• Deals with daily

tasks• Formal & rational

• Doing the right things• Impulsive• Visionary• Driving Changes• More emotional

Leadership PracticesThe five practices of effective leaders identified by Barry Kouzes and James Posner (2002)

Excellent Leaders:

» Model the way

» Inspire a shared vision

» Challenge the process

» Enable others to act

» Encourage the heart

The 4 Leadership Styles

• Directing Telling what & how to do

• Coaching Leading & Listening

• Supporting Listening, praising, while someone else decides

• DelegatingLetting someone else run with the ball

The Directing/Telling Leader

• Sets goals.• Identifies the problems.• Comes up with solutions.• Decides who does what work.• Gives specific directions.• Announces decisions.• Closely supervises and evaluates employees'

work.

The Coaching/Selling Leader• Sets the goals.• Identifies the problems.• Develops a plan to solve problems & consults

with employees.• Makes the final decision about procedures or

solutions after hearing employees' ideas, opinions & feelings.

• Explains decisions to employees & asks for their ideas.

• Praises employees' work efforts.• Continues to direct employees' work.• Evaluates employees' work.

The Supporting/Participating Leader

• Involves employees in problem-solving & goal-setting.

• Takes the lead in defining how to do a job or solve a problem.

• Provides support, resources, and ideas if requested.

• Shares responsibility for problem-solving with employees.

• Listens to employees and guides them as they make decisions.

• Evaluates an employee’s work with that person.

The Delegating Leader• Identifies problems with employees.• Sets goals with employees.• Develops plans and makes decisions with

employees.• Lets employees decide who does the tasks.• Accepts employees' decisions and monitors their

performance.• Lets employees evaluate their own work.• Lets employees take responsibility and credit for

their work.

Managers with Leadership Skills

Steps to apply your STYLE

1. Determine your preferred leadership style

2. Determine when to use each style according to the task

3. Determine the capabilities of the members

4. Use the appropriate leadership style

Styles of Followership

1. Docile Sheep

2. Passive-aggressive

3. Totally involved, loyal, supportive followership

The Four Leadership Styles

Leadership styles

Leadership grid developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton , Source: wikipedia.org

The Managerial Grid

Linked Leadership-Followership Styles

Source: Jerald Greenberg, Managing Behaviour in Organizations: Science in Service (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996). Reprinted by permission.

Applying the Situational Leadership Model

Source: Adapted from Paul Hersey, Situational Selling (Escondido, CA: Center for Leadership Studies, 1985), p. 19. Reprinted with permission.

Again, Leadership is…

• The act of making a difference.

• The ability to achieve results through people.

• Honoring the greatness--and the uniqueness in each person.

• Knowing that from time to time you have to look backward to see forward.

Once Again, Leadership is…• Knowing that every day you have the same

number of minutes as Lincoln, Galileo, Edison, da Vinci, King, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Mandela.

• Viewing life as a laboratory instead of a stage.

• Challenging times are meant to be a test of spirit, not theatrics.

Leadership Development• Self-Assessment:

– Strengths; Weaknesses; Traits; Habits; Personality; Roles; etc.

• Communication:• Writing; Speaking; Giving directions;• Listening, seeking feedback• Working with the media; etc.

• Competencies (skills):• Managing conflict; Selecting priorities• Managing time; Negotiating• Building teams; Writing grants; etc.

• Knowledge:• Dynamics of groups;• Influence of gender and difference• Evaluation of leaders; Culture of lifelong learning; etc.

Start with Self-AwarenessCattell’s 16 Personality Factors

Source: Adapted from Gregory Northcraft and Margaret Neale, Organizational Behavior (Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press, 1994), p. 87.

Four Examples of MBTI Styles andSome Corresponding Occupations

Next Step

• Maintain the process of sharpening the saw for effective leadership style:

2. Communication

3. Competencies

4. Knowledge

Thank you indeed!!

Any further good comments?