Styles of leadership Slide Share

What is a Leader? The person who leads or commands a group, organization or country Has a vision and leads the group towards a common goal that needs to be achieved

Styles of Leadership Autocratic Democratic Laissez-faire

Autocratic Leaders Characterized by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members Provide clear expectations for what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done. Best applied to situations where there is little time for group decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group Example: Hitler

Autocratic Leaders: Effects on Teams Positive Negative -Helps New Members by teaching them how to perform a task so they have a set of clear expectations -allows knowledgeable members to direct new members in terms of appropriate behavior until the new members are capable of making decisions on their own -decision making is less creative -doesn’t develop good relationships between group members -lessened commitment: the leader takes credit for all the success -high stress: members feel stressed due to high expectations and a low feeling of worth

Democratic Leaders Generally the most effective leadership style Offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in the group and allow input from other group members Encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say over the decision-making process. Members in this group were less productive than the members of the authoritarian group, but their contributions were of a much higher quality Example: Barack Obama

Democratic Leaders: Effects on Teams Positive Negative -inspires better creativity, cooperation, motivation and communication among employees. -invites workers to discuss the factors that will influence a particular decision, workers have a better understanding of the reasoning behind the decisions that are made. -Workers are more committed to their group’s goal because they feel that their input has importance -Democratic leaders often work with their employees to set workable goals rather than dictating what might be unobtainable goals. -not a lot of work may be accomplished due to the amount of time spent on discussion -Democratic leadership can sometimes come across as being indecisive.  - The consultation process could result in procrastination. 

Laissez-faire Least productive of all three groups Offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-making up to group members.

Laissez-faire: Effects on Teams Positive Negative -While this style can be effective in situations where group members are highly qualified in an area of expertise -effective in situations where group members are actually more knowledgeable than the group's leader - autonomy can be freeing to some group members and help them feel more satisfied with their work.  -It often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of motivation. -More demands on the leader -Little cooperation and were unable to work independently