Life is meaningless without a vision. Whether it is your personal, professional, or social life, you can never keep yourself on track until you recognize your actions’ true purpose. People tend to follow individuals that demonstrate high interest in pursuing specific goals. These ideals are the ones who resonate with your vision. You might have an unconscious liking for someone because he/she is capable of guiding and helping you in attaining your vision.
However, most individuals fail to demonstrate the required leadership attributes due to a significant contrast between their goals, vision, and actions. A great leader analyzes the situation and adjusts himself/herself and his/her team accordingly. Leadership never follows a one-size-fits-all approach. The key to effective leadership inheres to exhibiting the right leadership style for the situation. Leadership styles belong to either of the two overarching orientations of leadership.
The first includes authoritarian leadership, where the leader acts as the epitome of power and authority. All the decision-making revolves around keeping very close monitoring and disseminate defined tasks. The second refers to participative leadership, which empowers employees by giving them a fair share in decision-making. They tend to involve all the stakeholders in the decision-making process and allow a certain extent of autonomy over workflows and task designs.
Different workplace requirements have given rise to some other leadership styles following these two orientations. Notably, only the best-fit leadership style in the relevant settings can generate the right results for the entire organization. Undoubtedly, leadership is the most sought-after skill among competitive employees, as exemplary leadership leads to organizational success. Most organizations even encourage their employees to enroll in online leadership degree programs for their growth and learning.
If you are enjoying the same role, then this article is good to help you. Below, we’ve listed different leadership styles that might help you under various professional situations.
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Transformational Leadership
Transformational leaders set examples and inspire others to overcome their fears and do what they thought they could never accomplish. They energize and recharge followers through their enthusiasm and passion. They epitomize organizational resilience against external and internal challenges and encourage creativity and problem-solving skills. Employees working under a transformational leader always look forward to devising innovative ways of problem-solving.
Transformational leadership has the most positive influence over the entire organization. It is mainly because through transformational leadership, employees feel empowered and valued. They literally experience a transformation toward increased self-belief and enhanced self-image. As a result, employees improve their self-efficacy and uplift their performance. Hence, organizations led by transformational leaders are the most productive ones.
- Transactional Leadership
As the name suggests, transactional leaders practice give and take at the workplace. They tend to adhere to strong work standards and routines. They stimulate positive employee behavior through an honorable reward and punishment mechanism. Employees working under transactional leaders receive rewards for their hard work and vice versa. However, creating the right balance between reward and punishment is essential to condition the appropriate work behaviors.
The concept of transactional leadership bolsters on simple and rudimentary lines of managing people. It is an excellent approach to influence organizations with simple structures and smooth business pedagogy. Transactional leaders keep things simple. Therefore, they can trackback to possible problems relatively easier than other leadership styles.
- Charismatic Leadership
The biggest weapon of a charismatic leader is charm, inspiration and a dynamic personality. Their presence prevails way beyond the boundaries of their organizations. They become the flag bearer of motivation and charisma and are the right influencers. They are the embodiment of the most warranted leadership attributes.
A charismatic leader has positive body language, excellent communication skills, and exhibits a high degree of humility and maturity. They drive the world through their achievements than ostensive measures. There would be hardly anyone who does not admire Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates. All because they are charismatic leaders and not because they drive a gold-plated Rolls Royce. Their personalities influence people way beyond Amazon, Tesla, and Microsoft. A charismatic leader becomes a sign of motivation for a large audience. Their reach is vast because their performance speaks for them.
- Directive Leadership
Someone who prefers saying colleagues as subordinates and believes in a step-by-step guide for employees falls in this category. This person is a directive leader who is more conscious about compliance. Directive leaders are often very concerned about the discipline and inculcate it through transactional leadership techniques of rewards and punishment. They practice coercive management. However, it might sound like an ominous management technique, but it is your best option under specific requirements. When precisely following the operational policy, directive leadership is of great significance, like in manufacturing and construction industries.
Directive leadership is very precarious. It can influence employees in both positive and negative ways. Perhaps, employee outcomes might depend on how a directive leader manages the situation, and the way he/she creates the right balance between strictness and ease shapes the outcome.
- Autocratic Leadership
Autocratic leaders withhold the entire decision-making power. Employees are just bound to follow the work guidelines devised by the leadership. They have no say in the decision-making process. Although it might sound a bit harsh, autocracy is the right option at moments like critical decision-making. You would certainly not have enough time to consult everyone. As a leader, you must synergize your organizational understanding and make the right decision on your own.
Just like directive leadership, autocratic leaders are also in an inconsistent position. Sometimes they cast a negative influence on others. Whereas, other times, they earn great respect for bearing the entire burden of decision making. It depends on the context of the situation and the existing perception of the leader.
- Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leaders follow a participative leadership style. If they have a skilled team, motivated team members, and well-knitted team trust, they let them make their own decisions. Laissez-faire leadership
allows their employees to design their action plan and accommodate themselves accordingly. They intervene very little with team dynamics. However, their primary role is actually to supervise the overall workflow with minimum disruptions. They allow their teams to express themselves fully.
Laissez-faire leaders induce the motivational drive among employees. Also, they make their employees feel empowered and entitled to practice their expertise. Everyone loves them, and their influence prevails throughout the organization.
Wrap Up
The key to success is identifying the right leadership style. Adapt the style that suits your nature and fuse with your immediate environment. Practicing the right leadership style also requires enhanced cognitive and emotional intelligence. Therefore, as a leader, you should hone your skills on different levels and set examples for others.