Understanding Leadership Styles
Many companies rely on fundamental transformations to become more agile in order to survive and thrive in today's climate. The ability of leaders, particularly at senior levels, to acquire significant new mindsets and competencies is more important than any other component in a successful transition. An agile leadership style may be the most effective leadership style for today's executives.
From Lewin's Leadership Styles framework to more modern notions like transformational leadership, there are many different leadership styles. Smart leaders know when and how to switch from one style to another, depending on the circumstances.
Listed below are the most commonly used Leadership Styles in today’s corporate environment.
Autocratic: This allows a leader to enforce expectations and define results, and is also known as the Authoritarian leadership style. In circumstances where a leader is the most knowledgeable member of the team, a one-person show can be successful. Although this is a time-saving technique in a pinch, creativity might suffer as a result of the team's limited contribution.
Democratic: Also known as Participative leadership style, Democrats inform their employees about anything that impacts their work duties. They consult with staff before making a final decision. This fosters employee trust and encourages teamwork, growth possibilities, innovation, and collaboration. Multiple people involved, on the other hand, might lead to communication gaps and uncertainty, which can lead to delay in decision making.
Laissez-Faire: Coined as Delegative Leadership, this method provides little or no advice to group members and lets them make their own decisions. While this approach might be beneficial in instances when professionally experienced specialists are involved, it frequently results in inadequately defined responsibilities and a lack of effort. Members may blame each other for mistakes, fail to accept personal responsibility, and feel lost as a result of this.
Transformational: A transformational leader steers a company in the right direction by altering current beliefs, processes, and culture. The transformational leader will explore methods to extract the greatest performance and potential out of each team member by leading through example, inspiration, and involvement. He questions traditional ways of doing things in favour of newer, more efficient strategies.
Transactional: As the name suggests, Reward or penalize your staff in accordance with the company's policies. Everyone understands what they should do, why they should do it, and to what quality they should do it. Employee performance is assessed using predetermined criteria and objectives. If staff are additionally driven by perks and incentives, this method can be effective. When the duties are repetitious and goal-oriented, it works best.
Bureaucratic: Bureaucrats want their employees to follow the rules and procedures exactly as they are written. The bureaucratic leadership style emphasizes defined roles within a hierarchy, with each employee having a set of obligations and limited requirements for cooperation and innovation. This leadership style works best in highly regulated sectors like government offices, or the health sector.
Charismatic: A charismatic leader is someone who can influence people via their communication abilities, persuasiveness, and appeal. Due to their ability to connect with people on a deep level, charismatic leaders are extremely useful in companies that are experiencing a crisis or are trying to find the motivation to move forward.
Coaching: Leaders that employ a coaching approach offer their hearts and their doors to their employees. They believe that everyone possesses a lot of talent. A coaching leader provides individuals with a little guidance in order to help them realize their full potential.
Because of shifting demographics and different employee demands, today's corporate environments are riddled with difficulties. This may necessitate the emergence of a new type of leader, one that combines several of the leadership styles mentioned here. To be a leader, you need to master things that are beyond just skills and strategies. If you are looking forward to filling senior leadership positions in the near future, Post Graduate Certification in Advanced General Management by IIM Shillong might be a good fit for you