Leadership Styles
LEADERSHIP STYLES
There are multiple Leadership Styles. The key styles include:
Leadership Style
Key Characteristics
Transformative
• True leader who inspires team with shared vision
• Uses delegation & participation to engage team & has technical support staff so that focus is on communicating & people management
• Style most encouraged by Leadership programs
Transactional
• Focus is on getting staff to do what they are paid for (employment is a transaction)
• Reward & punishment is used to ensure compliance to leader’s directions/expectations (authoritarian)
• May have short-term benefits in high output demand roles but long-term cost is high
• Low job satisfaction, high absenteeism & staff turnover
Situational
• Mostly transformative leadership but can switch between different leadership styles depending on context requirements
• Good situational leaders communicate this switch & reason for/time limits for the switch to team members
Authoritarian/Autocratic
• Extreme form of transactional leadership
• “My way or the highway”
• team members have little opportunity for decision-making
• High absenteeism or employee turnover
• May be appropriate in critical situations or where absolute power outweighs high cost
Bureaucratic
• “By the book” leadership
• “If it isn’t a protocol, it isn’t practiced”
• Useful for work requiring precise outputs
• Limits team members’ capacity for innovation, enterprise and buy-in (unless they like the type of work that is clearly directive)
Charismatic
• Leader is highly enthusiastic and motivates others with energy
• May be perceived as only source of motivation or inspiration in the team
• Team members may feel that without their leader they cannot complete important projects
Democratic/Participative
• Invites team members to contribute to decision making, although may make final decision
• Very useful in situations where team cohesion
There are multiple Leadership Styles. The key styles include:
Leadership Style
Key Characteristics
Transformative
• True leader who inspires team with shared vision
• Uses delegation & participation to engage team & has technical support staff so that focus is on communicating & people management
• Style most encouraged by Leadership programs
Transactional
• Focus is on getting staff to do what they are paid for (employment is a transaction)
• Reward & punishment is used to ensure compliance to leader’s directions/expectations (authoritarian)
• May have short-term benefits in high output demand roles but long-term cost is high
• Low job satisfaction, high absenteeism & staff turnover
Situational
• Mostly transformative leadership but can switch between different leadership styles depending on context requirements
• Good situational leaders communicate this switch & reason for/time limits for the switch to team members
Authoritarian/Autocratic
• Extreme form of transactional leadership
• “My way or the highway”
• team members have little opportunity for decision-making
• High absenteeism or employee turnover
• May be appropriate in critical situations or where absolute power outweighs high cost
Bureaucratic
• “By the book” leadership
• “If it isn’t a protocol, it isn’t practiced”
• Useful for work requiring precise outputs
• Limits team members’ capacity for innovation, enterprise and buy-in (unless they like the type of work that is clearly directive)
Charismatic
• Leader is highly enthusiastic and motivates others with energy
• May be perceived as only source of motivation or inspiration in the team
• Team members may feel that without their leader they cannot complete important projects
Democratic/Participative
• Invites team members to contribute to decision making, although may make final decision
• Very useful in situations where team cohesion