I decided to write about leadership styles and gather some information about this topic. I had read a few articles but never gone deeper into it.

If you are interested in reading more about Leadership, have a look at this article: How to Lead a Team of Engineers?

This article can be really useful to those who want to understand themselves and their natural decision-making process.

1. Democratic Leadership

Democratic leadership is exactly what it sounds like — the leader makes decisions based on the input of each team member. Although he or she makes the final call, each employee has an equal say on a project’s direction. (Source)

Democratic leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles because it allows lower-level employees to exercise the authority they’ll need to use wisely in future positions they might hold. It also resembles how decisions can be made in company board meetings.(Source)

2. Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership is the inverse of democratic leadership. In this leadership style, the leader makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to them. Employees are neither considered nor consulted prior to a direction and are expected to adhere to the decision at a time and place stipulated by the leader.(Source)

Ruling with an iron fist is rarely appreciated by staff, which can lead to high turnover and absenteeism.

3. Laisez-Fair/Servant Leadership

The French term “laissez-faire” literally translates to “let them do,” and leaders who embrace it afford nearly all authority to their employees.

Although laissez-faire leadership can empower employees by trusting them to work however they’d like, it can limit their development and overlook critical company growth opportunities.(Source)

4. Strategic/Facilitative Leadership

Strategic leaders sit at the intersection between a company’s main operations and its growth opportunities. He or she accepts the burden of executive interests while ensuring that current working conditions remain stable for everyone else.(Source)

A Strategic leader works to build trusting relationships between leaders and employees in order to achieve their mutual goals. Strategic leaders learn as much as they can about their employees and how they work, give clear expectations of their employees, and encourage them as they achieve these goals. Strategic leaders are positive and motivational.

Strategic leadership is often used best within creative and skill-based industries, in which a more rigorous or structured type of leadership style could lead to roadblocks and stress. Strategic leadership puts people first and thus ties very strongly into people-first company cultures. It is best used when employees are already invested in producing the best work that they can for the organization.

5. Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is always “transforming” and improving upon the company’s conventions. Employees might have a basic set of tasks and goals that they complete every week or month, but the leader is constantly pushing them outside of their comfort zone. (Source)

6. Charismatic leadership

There is a certain amount of overlap between charismatic and transformational leadership. Both styles rely heavily on the positive charm and personality of the leader in question.

However, charismatic leadership is usually considered less favorable, largely because the success of projects and initiatives is closely linked to the presence of the leader.

While transformational leaders build confidence in a team that remains when they move on, the removal of a charismatic leader typically leaves a power vacuum.

7. Transactional Leadership

Transactional leaders are fairly common today. These managers reward their employees for precisely the work they do. A marketing team that receives a scheduled bonus for helping generate a certain number of leads by the end of the quarter is a common example of transactional leadership.(Source)

8. Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders go by the books. This style of leadership might listen and consider the input of employees — unlike autocratic leadership — but the leader tends to reject an employee’s input if it conflicts with company policy or past practices.(Source)

9. Style Assessment/Situational Leadership

Leaders can carry a mix of the above leadership styles depending on their industry and the obstacles they face. At the root of these styles, according to leading experts Bill Torbert and David Rooke, are what are called “action logics.”(Source)

These action logics assess “how [leaders] interpret their surroundings and react when their power or safety is challenged.”(Source)

For example, situational leaders may adopt a democratic leadership style when discussing commercial direction with senior executives but switch to a bureaucratic strategy when relaying new factory protocols to workers.(Source)

What Are the Traits of an Effective Leader?

The leader is tasked with the challenge of gathering and molding individuals into cohesive groups that are capable of achieving a common goal.

Leadership is defined by the results achieved under the specific person in charge.They bring out the best in individuals and of the group collectively, while also driving a higher level of performance that usually would be achieved. Effective leaders drive innovation, and they encourage their people to think strategically and creatively, while also reaching for new limits. In the world of business, an effective leader drives higher profits, and ultimately, increases the value and bottom line of the business as a whole.

Finding Your Leadership Style

Leadership positions do not come easily. Finding your way into a leadership job role in business usually requires years of hard work while learning and climbing the ladder. Starting a business is another route into leadership, and it immediately springs you into the top role. That’s not always a good thing, as you will still need to work hard and learn some hard lessons. Finding your groove as a leader requires failing, on occasion. Learning from those failures and using that experience to become a better leader will ultimately stand to benefit the business. A few people are natural leaders out of the gate and will take the reigns seamlessly. Most people must work hard and really focus on growth and experience while experimenting and testing styles until they start seeing results on the job.

Conclusion:

Adaptable leadership is about developing styles that improve productivity and provides an environment that gives everyone a chance to grow and fulfill their potential. Adaptable leaders cease to be managers and become motivators — and a motivated workforce will always outperform a stiffly organized one.

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Sources:

• https://tec.com.au/5-leadership-styles-apply/
• https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/leadership-styles
• https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_style
• https://wisetoast.com/12-different-types-of-leadership-styles/
• https://wisetoast.com/12-different-types-of-leadership-styles/
• https://www.informa.com.au/insight/leadership-styles-understanding-and-using-the-right-one-for-your-situation/
• https://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-different-types-leadership-styles-17584.html
• https://www.grosvenor.com.au/resources/is-your-leadership-style-impacting-contract-performance/
• http://www.shortpress.com.au/five-leadership-styles-and-how-they-can-impact-employees
• https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blogarchive/top-leadership-styles-todays-ideal-leader/