5 BECOME AN EXCEPTIONAL LEADER: Adapting Your Approach to Leadership

(EXTRACTION FROM LEADERSHIP SKILLS at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

LEADERSHIP STYLES

In business, a leadership style called "transformational leadership" is often the most effective approach to use.  Transformational leaders have integrity, they inspire people with a shared vision of the future, they set clear goals and motivate people towards them, they manage delivery, and they communicate well with their teams.  However, leadership is not "one size fits all" thing; often, you must adapt your style to fit a situation or a specific group.

LEADERSHIP STYLES
Transactional Leadership	·        Clarifies everyone's roles and responsibilities. ·        Judges team members on performance, people who are ambitious or who are motivated by external rewards – including compensation – often thrive. ·        A type of management, not a true leadership style, because the focus is on short-term tasks.
Autocratic Leadership	·        Leaders have complete power over their people. ·        Staff and team members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would be in the team's or the organization's best interest. ·        Often best used in crises, when decisions must be made quickly and without dissent.
Bureaucratic Leadership	·        Work "by the book."  They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures precisely. ·        Useful in organizations where employees do routine tasks (as in manufacturing). ·        Achieve their position because of their ability to conform to and uphold rules, not because of their qualifications or expertise.
Charismatic Leadership	·        Inspire enthusiasm in their teams. ·        Energetic in motivating others to move forward.
Democratic/ Participative Leadership	·        Make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making process. ·        Encourage creativity, and team members are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. ·        Team members tend to have high job satisfaction and are productive because they're more involved in decisions. ·        Helps develop people's skills. ·        Team members feel in control of their destiny, so they're motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward.
Laissez-Faire Leadership	·        This French phrase means "leave it be," ·        Allow their people to work on their own. ·        Give the teams complete freedom to do their work and set their own deadlines. ·        Provide team support with resources and advice, if needed, but otherwise don't get involved. ·        Effective when individual team members are experienced, skilled, self-starters. ·        Giving team members so much autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction and increased productivity.
Task-Oriented Leadership	·        Focus only on getting the job done and can be autocratic. ·        Actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work. ·        Create and maintain standards for performance. ·        Ensures that deadlines are met. ·        Don’t tend to think much about their team's well-being.
People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership	·        Totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people on their teams. ·        Encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration. ·        Treat everyone on the team equally. ·        Friendly and approachable, they pay attention to the welfare of everyone in the group. ·        Available whenever team members need help or advice. ·        Create teams that everyone wants to be part of. ·        Team members are often more productive and willing to take risks
Servant Leadership	·        Lead by example. ·        Have high integrity and lead with generosity. ·        Often "lead from behind," preferring to stay out of the limelight and letting their team accept recognition for their hard work. ·        Can achieve power because of their values, ideals, and ethics. ·        Can help to create a positive corporate culture and can lead to high morale among team members.
Transformational Leadership	·        Often the best leadership style to use in business situations. ·        Inspiring because they expect the best from everyone on their team as well as themselves.  This leads to high productivity and engagement from everyone in their team.