Leadership style reflects a leader’s behavioral pattern that enables them to handle their employees by directing and encouraging them towards a common goal. There are numerous leadership styles in the organization that the leaders follow.
Leadership styles decide a leader’s approach to strategizing and implementing methods while fulfilling the business expectations and focusing on the growth of the team. A leader follows multiple leadership styles to tackle different business situations.
So, today we will learn about different leadership styles in the organization, their significance, and how to select your leadership style. So, let’s commence our discussion!
What is a Leadership Style?
A leadership style is defined as a way in which a leader accomplishes the team’s objectives by encouraging the employees/ team members to focus on their well-being and collectively work towards achieving the company’s short-term and long-term goals.
Understanding leadership styles is imperative for a team to work together and keep growing while embracing changes.
Significance of Leadership Styles in the Organization
A leadership style followed by a leader is the combination of their personality, life experiences, way of thinking, emotional intelligence, and family dynamics. Therefore, leaders are able to understand their leadership styles in relation to the combination of their traits and determine how they can be more efficient.
Effective leadership is directly related to the leadership styles one follows. Thus, a leader must know what style must be adopted and followed for the organization’s benefit or to tackle a particular situation. In addition, understanding different leadership styles allow a leader to take ownership, control, and responsibility for handling the tasks.
Research shows that a leader’s/ manager’s leadership style was responsible for 30% of the company’s profitability. So, knowing one’s leadership style is essential as it can lead to numerous benefits such as:
- Improved communication & collaboration
- Enhancing the team’s effectiveness & productivity
- Increased employee engagement
- Leads to improved decisions
- Strengthen the company’s morale
- Create an optimistic work environment
Now, apart from the leadership values and qualities, there are different leadership styles in the organization that benefit it manifold. So, let us discuss them in detail.
Types of Leadership Styles in the Organization
Kurt Lewin first gave leadership styles in the 1930s. It provided the foundation for many other leadership approaches afterwards.
Below are the different styles prevalent in the workplace. Further, we have outlined how productive they are. So, let’s take a look!
- Democratic Leadership (Always Effective)
Democratic leadership is the most commonly used and effective leadership style that motivates team members and enhances productivity in the organization. This leadership style is also known as shared/ participative leadership.
In this style, the team members participate in making important decisions. Ideas & opinions are exchanged freely, and discussion is encouraged by the leader. Research shows that the democratic leadership style is the most effective and leads to improved productivity, increased team morale, and better contributions from team members.
Pros
- Employees are free to share their thoughts and opinions
- Solving business problems becomes easy
- Team members feel involved in the project and work hard to get the desired outcome
Cons
- Slows down the process of decision-making
- The performance of the team may falter
- Leaders can feel overwhelmed
- Autocratic Leadership (Rarely Effective)
As the name suggests, autocratic leadership focuses on controlling the employees to achieve results. This kind of leadership involves direct supervision and one-sided feedback and communication as compared to other leadership styles.
However, autocratic leadership has some strengths as well as some weaknesses. It is essential to note that this style is apt for specific circumstances or people, not for every situation. You could alienate your team if you follow an autocratic leadership style.
Pros
- Provides direction to disorganized groups
- The team works according to the deadline
- Employees and leaders have clarity of thought
Cons
- This style can discourage the team
- Employees might not be able to speak freely
- Lowers the morale of the team
- Laissez-Faire Leadership (Sometimes Effective)
Laissez-Faire is a French term meaning ‘let them do’. Basically, this kind of leadership style gives employees the authority to do everyday tasks.
Leaders following this leadership style put complete trust in the employees to manage their workload. Over the years, many charismatic leaders have adopted this style to make employees feel valued.
Working in a creative field, wherein people are highly motivated, creative, dedicated, and skilled, is conducive to getting excellent results. Because the team is well-skilled and trained, they are least likely to need direct management. Here are some pros and cons of this leadership style:
Pros
- Encourages personal growth and innovation
- Decisions are made quickly and easily
- This style is effective when group members are more knowledgeable than the leader
Cons
- This style is not effective in situations where team members lack knowledge or experience
- Lack of proper direction
- The team may become passive and withdrawn
- This style is used by leaders who tend to avoid responsibility
- Strategic Leadership (Mostly Effective)
Strategic leaders are at the intersection between a company’s primary operations and its growth prospects. These leaders ensure that the current working conditions remain stable for every employee.
Pros
- Offers more clarity
- Provide a defined role for employees
- This style supports multiple types of employees at once
Cons
- This style is not apt when employees don’t have a good deal of experience
- Managing different kinds of employees can be challenging
- Lack of motivation & creativity
- Bureaucratic Leadership (Rarely Effective)
Bureaucratic leadership is one of the rarely effective leadership styles in the organization. It is a traditional approach wherein a proper structure and framework are required to support its functions. Unlike the other leadership styles, Bureaucratic leadership is easy to follow and set up.
Pros
- Provides stability in the organization
- Allows fair and impersonal treatment of employees
- Enhances productivity as the employees follow organizational norms.
Cons
- Not suitable for smaller businesses
- Lack of freedom among employees
- Hinders the innovation of employees
- Not ideal for companies having high ambitions and want quick growth
- Coach-Style Leadership (Commonly Effective)
This leadership style takes inspiration from sports coaches and focuses on partnership and collaboration between the leaders and employees. Coach-style leadership can prove to be highly beneficial for the organization.
In this style, the Leader focuses on recognizing and nurturing the individual strengths of each employee. Leaders also focus on strategies that will enable the team to work collectively. Coach-style leadership is somewhat similar to democratic and strategic leadership. But it lays more emphasis on the growth and success of individual employees.
Pros
- Increased self-responsibility & self-belief
- Good balance of support & challenge
- Reduces stress among employees
Cons
- Employees become unwilling and incapable of learning
- In this style, the leader lacks skills in teaching/ training the employees
- Servant Leadership
Servant leadership involves a leader being a servant to the team. A servant leader strives to fulfill the needs of his employees. Such leaders try to find ways to develop, elevate, and motivate employees to follow their lead to achieve desirable outcomes.
Pros
- Leaders have high integrity and munificence
- Creates a positive work environment
- Boosts employee morale
- Promotes ethical work culture, including strong values and ideals
Cons
- This leadership is not suitable for competitive situations
- Servant leaders can easily fall behind ambitious leaders
- This style is criticized for not being agile enough
- Transactional Leadership
Also known as the ‘give and take’ leadership, this style is suitable for fulfilling short-term goals. Team members agree to follow their leader upon accepting the job. Therefore, it is a transaction involving payment for the services rendered. Employees are rewarded as per the roles/ tasks they fulfill.
Pros
- Eliminates confusion between leaders and subordinates
- Both leaders and employees have clarity of thought
- Encourages the employees to complete the work as scheduled
Cons
- The work environment is rigid
- Curbs innovation and creativity
- Lowers job satisfaction
- High employee turnover
Which is the best Leadership Style?
There is no one leadership style that suits every organization or situation. Subsequently, there is no one right way to lead. Therefore, leaders may need to switch to different leadership styles in the organization as per the demands of the situation.
It is essential to know all leadership styles along with their advantages and disadvantages.
So, in order to determine the exemplary leadership approach, here’s what you can consider:
- The type of organization, i.e., if it is growth-oriented.
- The kind of work involved, i.e., creative, innovative, or routine.
- The personality and attitude of the leader
- The level of experience and skills of the teams
Once you consider these factors, it will become easier to determine the appropriate leadership style that you can adopt/ follow.
How to select the best Leadership Style?
Below are some ways in which you can choose the right leadership style:
- Outline your values, ethics, and challenges you tend to face as a leader. Try to learn more about yourself, as it will help you become an effective leader.
- Observe the leaders you revere. Watch them tackle a complex issue and draw inspiration from them.
- Try different leadership styles before choosing one.
- Ask peers to offer feedback.
- Find a mentor who will help you hone your leadership style.
- Take leadership style assessments to help determine the style.
Become the Leader you would follow!
We have discussed different types of leadership styles in the organization. Understanding these types and adopting them can add value to the company and create a good impact on your team members.
Each leadership style mentioned above can work given the right situation; you just need to look at your instincts and personality to choose the style that suits you the best. When you pair the right leadership style with your team, the employees are bound to be happier and more productive!
So, which is the best leadership style according to you? What style did you resonate with? Tell us in the comments below!
