Several leadership styles are being practised in the world today. You may have a trademark way of leading people under you. You may or may not be aware of it. It is good to understand the type of leader you are. You will then be better placed to improve on this leadership style or to switch to a more effective style of leadership.
Types of Leadership Styles:
- Transformational Leader
This is an inspirational type of leadership. This type of leader believes that the present complexion of the business they are leading needs to be changed for the better. A transformational leader can think out of the box and come up with a better way of improving the business. They are always encouraging their employees to handle their assignments in a better way, utilizing a refined training design in the process.
A transformational leader can motivate their employees to bring out the best versions of themselves. However, some of your employees who are not well motivated will find issues with you pulling them out of their comfort zones.
- Democratic Leadership
In this type of leadership, each member of the group has a say in the decision-making process. Decisions are made in this kind of leadership after considering the opinion of each member of the team. The advantage of this leadership style is that decisions can be more effective since it involves the reinforced ideas of the majority. The people under this leadership style are more likely to feel happier for their opinions being valued. Nevertheless, it requires the presidency of a skilful person to effectively choose some people’s ideas over others without them feeling offended. Also, it takes skill for the leader of this democratic group to choose the best ideas and not to opt for weaker ones. You may need to learn these skills before adopting this leadership style. Maybe a train the trainer certification would help you develop these skills!
- Autocratic Leadership
An autocratic leader dictates how, where, and when everything under their management needs to be done without consulting the opinions of other people. The leader of this group believes that they are far more experienced than other members of the group. The advantage of this leadership style is that there is little room for error once the leader is sure of what they are doing. The disadvantages are that the business or organization will quickly collapse if the autocratic leader is deficient. The employees also feel undervalued for their inability to contribute their own ideas.
- Bureaucratic Leadership
A bureaucratic leader has mapped out all the processes to be followed by their employees. The instructions are clear, and the employees know how to carry out those instructions. The advantage is that it can create a stable environment. The disadvantage is that it inhibits innovation.
- Servant Leadership
This leader is always ready to help any member of their team. They spend time seeking ways to assist their employees. The advantage of this type of leadership is attentiveness that helps prevent a serious problem from developing. The disadvantage is that it is difficult for the leader to accomplish their own goal since there is not enough time for that.
- Laissez-faire Leadership
In this leadership style, the leader delegates some assignments to members of their team and allows them to handle it their own way without much supervision. This leadership type can give employees more freedom to be innovative in their jobs. The downside is that some workers may abuse this freedom and mistake it as an excuse for not being serious.
- Strategic Leadership
A strategic leader has a goal they seek to accomplish at a particular time, and they push their team to work towards actualizing those goals. A strategic leader delivers the goal they promised their organization at a given time. The advantage of this kind of leadership is that there is a sense of direction by every member of the strategic leaders’ team. The disadvantage is that some members of the team may feel that they are giving more than they are supposed to.
Every leadership style has its own merits and demerit. You have to understand your employee and the circumstances surrounding your job to choose wisely the leadership style to adopt.
