Personal Leadership Style Analysis

There are many aspects to consider when trying to determine the type of leadership style that will work best to influence the effectiveness of leadership skills. A person’s leadership style has an important bearing on how successfully an organization reaches its goals and objectives. Different styles are needed for different situations and each leader needs to know when to exhibit a particular approach. Leaders must learn to adjust their leadership style to the situation as well as to the people being led. Additionally, leadership strategies define a leader's personal leadership style.
In an autocratic leadership style, also referred to as authoritative leaders, the person in charge has complete authority and control over decision-making.
An autocratic leadership is best used where control is necessary, “often where there is little margin for error.” (leadership-toolbox). Autocratic leaders are very strict and directive, while using their power of influence to force the subordinates to comply with instructions. Leaders of this kind “dominate and control all the decisions and actions by giving instruction and direction to the followers on what to do and how to carry out a task whereby restricting follower’s creativity and innovativeness.” (malyasian page 3) Autocratic leadership tends to be more disciplinary and the close supervision reduces productivity as well as group harmony. Subordinates also usually fear the leader and there is typically a high employee turnover.
Howell Raines of the New York Times, executive editor between 2001 and 2003, is a great example of autocratic leadership.
The newspaper industry is regarded as a highly demanding industry, with lots of pressure associated with quick decision-making. Raines’s leadership style raised efficiency and “contributed to bottom line growth in the highly demanding newspaper industry that requires some form of autocratic control to meet tight deadlines on a regular basis.” (brighthubpm) He was referred to as a “hard-charging” executive and also known for the policy of “ flooding the zone”, using all the New York Time’s resources to cover what he deemed were important stories. The company won a record of seven Pulitzers Prize in one year. However, his autocratic style led to changes of highhandedness and callousness. His drive to get things done made him “contemptuous, dismissive, and sarcastic, even to senior journalists.” He centralized decision-making, and killed stories at will. He disregarded all efforts and contributions before his arrival, assumed everyone as “lazy,” and “lethargic,” and divided the journalists into “stars,” and “also-rans.” All [this] created distress and dissension among the staff, and morale fell, leading to a decline in both quality and quantity of information.” (brighthubpm) Although Howell Raines was a very efficient autocratic leader, his leadership style caused distress amongst the journalists and quality declined. So after almost two years on the job,
21 months to be exact, Raines was fired.
In my opinion, I do agree that an autocratic style can be successful in a high demanding industry. However, I think Howell Raines was too consumed with being in control, which was his downfall that caused him to be terminated of his position. While power is necessary to accomplish organizational goals, excessive power “can cause leaders to develop inflated vies of themselves due to compliance of the followers…and their access to too many resources without much accountability. Such excessive power can impair the leader’s ability to make good decision making, increase their reliance on authoritarian leadership, and ultimately, cause subordinates to resist their leader’s request.” (book 168) Certain conditions and specific industries thrive when a leader takes tight control and makes most of the decisions but you should also take into consideration the roles members take part in. For instance, If the group that you are working with is inexperienced or unmotivated, the autocratic leadership style will work well mainly because new or inexperienced employees need directing and close follow-up until they learn the job. On the other hand, if the group is highly skilled and understand the task at hand, the autocratic leadership style will not work well due to few people not liking being told what to do. This type of group will feel frustrated and have low morale, which will in turn affect the team’s productivity. If Howell Raines had recognized the contributions of each member and the importance they play in the company, he could have thrived as a leader and probably would have kept his position longer. In a democratic leadership style, also known as participative leadership, the person in charge will include the group with the decision making process and will also consider the group’s inputs. Democratic leaders delegate tasks to employees with full responsibility, which makes them accountable for their actions and tasks. Employees are open to feedback and encouragement by the leader, which helps to motivate them. In addition, a positive work environment is created because everyone gets a fair amount of responsibility and challenges are encouraged so work becomes more enjoyable.
Since 2001, Carlos Ghosn has been the Chairman and CEO of Nissan Motor Company.
Before he took over though, the Nissan brand was losing its value and for the company to survive, it was evident that a turnover had to happen. After a few years of restructuring, he transformed the company and Nissan showed remarkable growth and profitability. Following his success, Carlos earned the nickname “Mr. Fix It.” He contributes his success on his team’s part, stating that he relies a great deal on his team and that they “[work] to review their performance by being critical [of] their achievement which makes them more able to solve their own problems.” (somewhere) He also encourages innovation within his employees and encourages them to take initiative by including them in the decision making process. Carlos firmly believes that “Employees are your most valuable assets. They are the heart and guts of a company. (times) In addition, he states “You have to listen to the people who have a negative opinion as well as those who have positive opinion. Just to make sure that you are blending all these opinions in your mind before a decision is made.”
(somewhere)
I think Carlos Ghosn displayed great democratic leadership style amongst his team and employees. Through empowering his subordinates, Carlos Ghosn demonstrated that “equal power sharing [contributed] to the organization’s effectiveness.” (book 164) His continued emphasis on participation motivated and encouraged his employees, which “provided [them] with a sense of control and accomplishment” (book 164), resulting in company’s success.
They weren’t just employees to him,