1. A description of three styles of leadership.
In business there are three main styles of leadership that are globally recognized in the workplace. In addition to these 3 styles there are new types of ;leadership that have been identified in the modern office environment that perhaps a new “breed” of manager falls into/ however for now I will address the 3 classic leadership styles. Everyone needs to find the leadership style that works best for them and their subordinates. What works for your superiors may not work for you and your team. Time should be taken to analyses leadership styles to understand them and how they work for difference personality types to be successful as a leader. Leadership is not a ‘one size fits all’ technique. You may need to adapt your leadership style to fit a specific situation so it is useful to gain a thorough understanding of all leadership styles – the more you are familiar with, the more tools you can use to lead effectively.
There are 3 styles of leadership that are considers as ‘classic’s styles used by business leaders globally. Each has its strengths and weaknesses of which I will go into more detail. The 3 classis leadership styles are autocratic (or authoritarian), democratic and laissez-faire. Kurt Lewin’s 1939 study set out to identify different styles of leadership and was very influential for further leadership research. School children were assigned to one of three groups with an autocratic, democratic or laissez-fair leader. The children were then led in arts and crafts activities while researchers observed behavior of the children in response to the different leadership styles and techniques.
Autocratic leadership involves the leader having complete power over their subordinates. Staff and team members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would