LEADERSHIP

STYLES

CHRIS MUCHATA

SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

EDU 985B – PRACTICUM IN STUDENT AFFAIRS

LEADERSHIP

• Essential component of any organizational structure

• Provide guidance, accountability, and mentorship

• Different styles for different people

CHARISMATIC

LEADER

• Charismatic leaders influence others and incites passion

within their team

• They are great for increasing morale

• These types of leaders are energetic

• Without the leader, the team may flounder

Think Leslie Knope from

Parks and Recreation!

INNOVATIVE OR

VISIONARY LEADER

• Think outside the box

• Brings new ideas and actions to the organization

• Can sometimes lead to big risk-taking or experimenting,

but creates a space where others’ ideas are respected and

encouraged

• Sees failure as an opportunity for

growth

Apple’s Steve Jobs

was an innovative

leader, and when met

with failure multiple

times, did not give up

AUTHORITATIVE OR

COMMANDING LEADER

• Least effective style of leadership – creates low satisfaction

• High control and top-down behavior

• Effective during crisis

• Low praise, high criticism

• Limits skill development for subordinates

Think of Hocus Pocus’ Winifred

Sanderson when it comes to a

commanding leader – it wasn’t

very effective, was it?

LAISSEZ-FAIRE

LEADERS

• Have high trust in employees to complete tasks

• Not involved in the work directly—oversees the process

• More of a hands-off approach

• Effective when working with highly-trained and motivated

employees

X-Men: First Class’ Sebastian

Shaw let his subordinates do

the work for him and only got

involved when he absolutely

had to

PACESETTING

LEADER

• Set high expectations for work performance

• Constantly seeking to improve the organization through goal setting

• Can cause associates to feel as if they are failing or to experience burnout because of fast pace

• Good to use if the staff is highly motivated

Jack Skellington’s obsession with

making Halloweentown’s Christmas

celebration the best it could be led

to some trouble with his friends.

SERVANT LEADER

• Puts the needs of followers before self

• Communicates frequently and well

• Highly trusting of associates

• Team is involved in the decision-making process

• Gives credit where credit is due

• Great for morale but not good for making decisions quickly

Captain America always puts the

needs of others before himself,

making him an example of a

servant leader.

SITUATIONAL LEADER

• Adapts leadership style depending on the group of

associates

• Useful to help coach or empower newer or inexperienced

employees

• May provide more concrete direction at times

Charles Xavier, better known as

Professor X, adapts his leadership

role depending on the members of

the X-Men he is working with.

TRANSFORMATIONAL

LEADER

• Seeks to transform the group, even during moments of discomfort

• Expects teammates to give their best effort

• Becomes a role model for the team

• Useful for encouraging group to try new ideas

• Highly motivational through optimism and high energy

Think Chris Trager from

Parks and Recreation—he’s

never ending optimist,

looking to create positive

change for Pawnee.

ME AND MY

SUPERVISOR

ME - SERVANT

• Put the RAs and

coworkers before myself

• RAs have cited good

communication skills

• Decision-making takes a

long time

• Trust staff to get work

done, almost to a fault

HER - SITUATIONAL

• Context is important!

• Small department means

we need to get tasks

accomplished quickly, so

she utilizes a more top-

down approach

• Spends time helping

newer associates grow

• Sometimes has a

concrete plan,

sometimes gives

autonomy

QUESTION ONE

Which style of leadership do you identify with most? Why is

that?

QUESTION TWO

Which style of leadership do you think is most effective?

What kinds of leadership do you look for in a supervisor?

RESOURCES

Blanken, R. (2013). 8 common leadership styles. Retrieved from http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=241962

Brown, Q. (n.d.). Servant leadership: Making a difference in the world. Retrieved from http://www.gbhem.org/article/servant-leadership-making-difference-world

Leadership styles. Retrieved from http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/how-to-develop-a-leadership-style/

Russel, R.F. and Stone, G. (2002). A review of servant leadership attributes: Developing a practical model. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(3), 145-157.