Most people generally agree that leaders are made, not born. But realistically speaking, not all will mature to become the same kind of leader. We all have different values, lifestyles, and personalities. Naturally, our unique traits will reflect our leadership style - the methods, characteristics, and behaviors we showcase when leading a team. While completing an online Doctorate in Organizational Leadership is a great first step to setting yourself up for leadership success, understanding your leadership style is just as important.
Delegative Leadership
Regarded as a hands-off leadership style, delegative leadership, also known as “laissez-faire”, focuses on allowing team members to make the decisions. The benefits? It encourages team members to use their creativity and innovation to get the work done. This style gives employees the autonomy to make decisions without being micromanaged or going through a lengthy approval process.
By being a delegative leader, you allow your employees to be more hands-on and ultimately create an environment that cultivates professional growth and development. The autonomy afforded by this style of leadership can be very freeing for employees and make them feel more satisfied in their work.
Autocratic Leadership
An autocratic, or authoritative, leadership style focuses on the leader's command and control over employees. With this approach, leaders provide clear and direct expectations of what needs to be accomplished and emphasize strict adherence to deadlines, quality, and structure, usually enforcing rules already in place unless otherwise specified. In any workplace headed by an autocratic leader, there is a clear separation between the leader and employees, with the leader making all decisions with little to no input or suggestions.
In urgent situations, autocratic leadership could be effective as its purpose is to allow quick decisions to be made. However, consistently adopting this may lead to hostility and reduce your employees' motivation, especially when they feel they aren’t being heard. You’ll need to be well knowledgeable in your employees’ expertise and your industry’s nature, so that whatever action you take will not set your team back.
If there is any public figure who embodies this leadership style, it’s Gordon Ramsay. Rising to stardom through iconic American shows like MasterChef and Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsay is a textbook autocrat due to his direct approach, strict adherence to quality, and his blunt communication. Although subject to scrutiny, many see his approach as effective as it drives people to try their best, remain focused, and stay disciplined in high-pressure situations.
Participative Leadership
Participative leadership is a style that fosters open forums where leaders take input and feedback from their employees within the decision-making process. Often referred to as democratic leadership, this approach requires a combination of solid communication, listening, and cooperation skills from you. Participative leadership will generally distribute responsibility for the outcome and direction to all staff.
When a leader adopts participative leadership, they encourage collective responsibility and accountability, which allows the team can work together and join their efforts to drive a project or organisation forward. Democratic leaders come with attributes such as open communication and forming relationships with employees, making it a favored leadership style as it helps build trust and relationships.
A US case study on leadership behavioral integrity on employee outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic found that participative leadership was positively related to a majority of employees' thriving and assisting behaviors during the pandemic. For remote-based staff, absences from face-to-face connections can often make participative leadership a challenge. Another potential issue is increased time consumption. Leaders will often spend a lot of time briefing employees and clarifying options for them to provide their input and feedback. Hence, while it stimulates creativity and collective input, it may reduce efficiency, which could be problematic towards projects with tight deadlines.
Transactional Leadership
An approach that centers around structure, transactional leadership relies on rewards and punishments and generally assumes that individuals aren’t able to motivate themselves to accomplish tasks. With this reward-focused approach, leaders will assign tasks and outline how followers will be rewarded for completing them or punished for falling behind. A basic example of a reward could be financial, such as a bonus pay.
Often described as a ‘give and take’ relationship, transactional leadership is ultimately aimed at establishing routines and procedures rather than pursuing transformation and instilling change. Employees, however, may often feel diminished if they are aware that the metrics of their efforts are being measured over time. As a transactional leader, the importance of being consistent with rewards and penalties and ensuring they align with organizational goals and values is important.
Correctly applying the transactional leadership style may help solidify communication between team members and help you to better clarify expectations and goals. Examples of transactional leadership can be observed in everyday life. For instance, sporting coaches making you run extra laps, teachers giving out detentions, and even parents handing you timeouts - these encompass a ‘rewards and penalty’ model.
Servant Leadership
Are you somebody who always puts others first? Then, a servant leadership style might be the one for you. This style focuses on creating strong relationships around you and focuses on empowering team members and followers to better themselves professionally and personally. At the core, servant leadership is driven by ethical thinking.
Those who fit into this leadership style tend to make decisions and point in directions based on what is right for everyone. Being a servant leader who prioritizes the interests and role of others, you’ll often be driven towards creating an environment that also encourages creativity and problem-solving for team members and makes them feel included in the solution.
Principles of servant leadership can be ideal as they act as the bridge in improved communication between higher-level management and junior-level staff, and by accounting for opinions from different departments, which can also help minimize the risks of conflicts developing within workplaces and team settings. By empowering employees, as a servant leader, you’re also more likely to form strong bonds with team members and foster a stronger sense of loyalty, which can contribute to better productivity.
