HCS475
October 14, 2013
Kathie Huttegger
Leadership Style
Leadership can be formal or informal. Formal leadership can depend on the personal skills of an individual or be reinforcing by authority and position. Informal leadership can be expressive in an individual who does not have a specified management role (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). Both roles are important to any organization that wants to form a good organizational culture and foundation. Sullivan & Decker (2009), address four leadership styles authoritarian, democratic, permissive, and bureaucratic, which have their strengths and weaknesses. Authoritarian has the leadership characteristics of using directive behavior and strives on goal accomplishments rather than relationships. Democratic has the leadership characteristics opposite of authoritarian as this individual has concerns with building relationship and strives for open communication (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). This provides teams to collaborate effectively with team satisfaction. Permissive leaders tend not to have a good foundation of established policies and works off impulses. The bureaucratic style of leadership lacks security and depends solely on the rules and polices set (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). This individual avoids decision-making and “exercises power by applying fixed, relatively inflexible rules” (Sullivan & Decker, 2009).Through the review of this paper it will explain the leadership style of democratic and authoritarian as they are applied to Pat DeCesare in her successful leadership role. Pat has been in management for over 30 years and has a successful track record of taking her departments to the next level.
Pat DeCesare is a combination of both authoritarian and democratic as she pulls in the characteristics of using directive behavior, always expects respect from staff, achiever in crisis situations, concerned with relations and teamwork, and keeps an open line of communication. She