Leadership Styles NEHA

8/13/2019 Leadership Styles NEHA

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Project Report

On

Leadership Styles

By

Neha Thakur 167

MET Institute of Management

Academic year: 2013-15


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Index

Sr. No. Topic Page No.

1 Autocratic Style5

2 Bureaucratic Style 7

3 Consultative Style 9

4 Participative Style 11

5 Laissez-Faire Style 14

6 Paternalistic Style 16

7 Neurocratic Style 18

8 Sociocratic Style 19

9 Situational Style 20

10 Bibliography 24


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Leadership Styles

From Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs, there can

seem to be as many ways to lead people as there are leaders.

Fortunately, businesspeople and psychologists have developed useful, simple ways to describe

the main styles of leadership.

By understanding these styles and their impact, you can develop your own approach to

leadership and become a more effective leader.What exactly makes a great leader? Do certain

personality traits make people better-suited to leadership roles, or do characteristics of the

situation make it more likely that certain people will take charge? When we look at the leaders

around usbe it our employer or the Presidentwe might find ourselves wondering exactly

why these individuals excel in such positions.

People have long been interested in leadership throughout human history, but it has only been

relatively recently that a number of formal leadership theories have emerged. Interest in

leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership theories

focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while subsequent

theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill levels.

So lets take a look at the leadership styles:

Autocratic Style Bureaucratic Style Consultative Style Participative Style Laissez-Faire Style Paternalistic Style


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Neurocratic Style Sociocratic Style Situational Style


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1. Autocratic Leadership styleAutocratic leadership is an extreme form oftransactional leadership,where leaders have a lot

ofpower over their people. Staff and team members have little opportunity to make

suggestions, even if these would be in the team's or the organization's best interest.

The benefit of autocratic leadership is that it's incredibly efficient. Decisions are made quickly,

and work gets done efficiently.

The downside is that most people resent being treated this way. Therefore, autocratic

leadership can often lead to high levels of absenteeism and high staff turnover. However, the

style can be effective for some routine and unskilled jobs: in these situations, the advantages of

control may outweigh the disadvantages.

Autocratic leadership is often best used in crises, when decisions must be made quickly and

without dissent. For instance, the military often uses an autocratic leadership style; top

commanders are responsible for quickly making complex decisions, which allows troops to

focus their attention and energy on performing their allotted tasks and missions.

Example of such leader is Hitler.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm#transactionalhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htmhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htmhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm#transactional


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Authoritarian Leaders (Autocratic)

Authoritarian leaders, also known asautocratic leaders,provide clear expectations for what

needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done. There is also a clear

division between the leader and the followers. Authoritarian leaders make decisions

independently with little or no input from the rest of the group.

Researchers found that decision-making was less creative under authoritarian leadership. Lewin

also found that it is more difficult to move from an authoritarian style to a democratic style

than vice versa. Abuse of this style is usually viewed as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.

Situation

Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group

decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.

Benefits:

It is incredibly efficient style of leadership. Decisions are made quickly and work gets done efficiently.

Downside:

Most people resent being treated this way Often lead to high levels of absenteeism and high staff turnover
http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/autocratic-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/autocratic-leadership.htm


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2. Bureaucratic Style

Bureaucratic leaders work "by the book." They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their

people follow procedures precisely.

This is an appropriate leadership style for work involving serious safety risks (such as

working with machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights) or where large

sums of money are involved. Bureaucratic leadership is also useful in organizations where

employees do routine tasks (as in manufacturing).

The downside of this leadership style is that it's ineffective in teams and organizations that

rely on flexibility, creativity, or innovation.

Much of the time, bureaucratic leaders achieve their position because of their ability to

conform to and uphold rules, not because of their qualifications or expertise. This can cause

resentment when team members don't value their expertise or advice.


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Situation:

Appropriate for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery,with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights) or where large sums of money are

involved.

Useful in organizations where employees do routine tasks (as in manufacturing).The downside:

It's ineffective in teams and organizations relying on flexibility, creativity, or innovation. Leaders achieve their position because of their ability to conform to and uphold rules,

not because of their qualifications or expertise


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3. Consultative Style

Leader consults subordinates before taking decisions. Leader is more open minded &

welcome suggestions. Superior makes the decision & is responsible for the decision.

Relation between superior and subordinate is informal.No urgency of decision.

Suggestions of subordinates are vital in decision making. Subordinates are matured and

can provide suggestions & comment.

Situation:

When there is no urgency of decision Suggestions of subordinates are vital in decision making Subordinates are matured and can provide suggestions & comments


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Downside:

The Consultativeleadership requires some favorable conditions in that the labor mustbe literate, informed and organized. This is not always possible.

This approach is very time consuming and too many view-points and ideas may takethe- solid decision more difficult and may be a source of frustration to impatient

management.


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4. Participative leadership

Participative leadership, also known as Democratic leadership, is a type ofleadership style in

which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process.

Researchers have found that this learning style is usually one of the most effective and lead to

higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale.

Characteristics of Participative leadership

Some of the primary characteristics of Participative leadership include:

Group members are encouraged to share ideas and opinions, even though the leaderretains the final say over decisions.

Members of the group feel more engaged in the process.

Creativity is encouraged and rewarded.
http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htm


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Benefits:

Because group members are encouraged to share their thoughts, Participative leadership can

leader to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems. Group members also feel more

involved and committed to projects, making them more likely to care about the end results.

Research on leadership styles has also shown that Participative leadership leads to higher

productivity among group members.

Downsides:

While Participative leadership has been described as the most effective leadership style, it does

have some potential downsides. In situations where roles are unclear or time is of the essence,

Participative leadership can lead to communication failures and uncompleted projects. In some

cases, group members may not have the necessary knowledge or expertise to make quality

contributions to the decision-making process.

Situation:

Participative leadership works best in situations where group members are skilled and eager to

share their knowledge. It is also important to have plenty of time to allow people to contribute,

develop a plan and then vote on the best course of action.

In 1939, a group of researchers led by psychologistKurt Lewin set out to identify different styles

of leadership. While further research has identified more specific types of leadership, this early

study was very influential and established three major leadership styles. In the study,

schoolchildren were assigned to one of three groups with an authoritarian, democratic or

laissez-fair leader. The children were then led in an arts and crafts project while researchers

observed the behavior of children in response to the different styles of leadership.
http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_lewin.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_lewin.htm


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Lewins study found that Participative leadership, also known asparticipative leadership,is

generally the most effective leadership style. Democratic leaders offer guidance to group

members, but they also participate in the group and allow input from other group members. In

Lewins study, children in this group were less productive than the members of the

authoritarian group, but their contributions were of a much higher quality.

Participative leaders encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say over the

decision-making process. Group members feel engaged in the process and are more motivated

and creative.
http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/democratic-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/democratic-leadership.htm


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5. Laissez-Faire Leadership style

Researchers found that children under delegative leadership, also known aslaissez-fair

leadership,were the least productive of all three groups. The children in this group also made

more demands on the leader, showed little cooperation and were unable to work

independently.

Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-making up

to group members. While this style can be effective in situations where group members are

highly qualified in an area of expertise, it often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of

motivation.

Laissez-faire leadership, also known as delegative leadership, is a type ofleadership style in

which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to make the decisions. Researchers have

found that this is generally the leadership style that leads to the lowest productivity among

group members.
http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htm


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Characteristics of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Laissez-faire leadership is characterized by:

Very little guidance from leaders Complete freedom for followers to make decisions Leaders provide the tools and resources needed Group members are expected to solve problems on their own

Benefits:

Laissez-faire leadership can be effective in situations where group members are highly skilled,

motivated and capable of working on their own. While the conventional term for this style is

'laissez-faire' and implies a completely hands-off approach, many leaders still remain open and

available to group members for consultation and feedback.

Downsides:

Laissez-faire leadership is not ideal in situations where group members lack the knowledge or

experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions. Some people are not good at

setting their own deadlines, managing their own projects and solving problems on their own. In

such situations, projects can go off-track and deadlines can be missed when team members do

not get enough guidance or feedback from leaders.


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6. Paternalistic leadership

Leader acts as the father figure of their people and is responsible of taking care of their

peoples needs. In turn, the followers will have to give full trust to the leader.

The followers are not able to go against the leader. China is often described as a paternalistic country. It is deeply rooted in Chinas patriarchal tradition and in Confucianism. Taiwan and Mexico are also paternalistic countries. It is said that most of European countries use this kind. (ex: Switzerland)

Benefits:

The followers have to follow any leaders instructions. Leader makes good decisions = Followers will get benefits + more loyal The relationship between the leader and the followers are extremely solid. Strong diplomatic relationship.


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Downside:

Followers are dependent No decision making skills They are also not free and they are restricted to what the leader thinks. The leader could start to play favorites in terms of making decisions.


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7. Neurocratic Style

A Neurocratic leader is highly task oriented and wants to get the things done at

done at any cost. He is highly sensitive and gets quickly upsets by failures.

The leader may be emotional and eccentric.The leader may not consult the subordinates in decision making.The leader takes decisionThe leader is responsible for decision making, but he may shift the

responsibility on to his subordinates.


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8. Sociocratic Style

The Sociocratic leader tries to run the organization just like a Social Club. He gives less

importance to production and more importance to friendship. That is, he tries to keep

his subordinates very happy. So, he creates a warm and good social environment. For

them the interest of subordinates comes first and then that of the organization.

The superior takes a decision by keeping the interest of the subordinates. Theinterest of organization may be secondary.

The superior consults the subordinates for the decision making.


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9. Situational leadership theory:Now-a-days, in most well managed organizations, the managers follow situational leadership

style. This means, the leadership style varies depending upon the situation. In other words, the

leader may be autocratic at times, consultative at times, and participative at times, depending

upon the decision and the situation.

Situational leadership theory also called as contingency theory because it focuses on the best

leadership style for a given situation. Specifically the scientists who developed this theory argue

that leaders are effective when they select the right leadership style for the conditions they

face. Specifically this depends on maturity of followers - i.e. their readiness to take

responsibility for their own behavior. This in turn is based on two variables.

The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory


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The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory was created by Dr. Paul Hersey, a

professor and author of "The Situational Leader," and Ken Blanchard, author of the best-selling

"One-Minute Manager," among others.

The theory states that instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their

leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they're leading and the details of the

task. Using this theory, leaders should be able to place more or less emphasis on the task, and

more or less emphasis on the relationships with the people they're leading, depending on

what's needed to get the job done successfully.

Leadership Styles

According to Hersey and Blanchard, there are four main leadership styles:

Telling (S1)Leaders tell their people what to do and how to do it. Selling (S2)Leaders provide information and direction, but there's more communication with

followers. Leaders "sell" their message to get people on board.

Participating (S3)Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leaderworks with the team, and shares decision-making responsibilities.

Delegating (S4)Leaders pass most of the responsibility onto the follower or group. Theleaders still monitor progress, but they're less involved in decisions.As you can see, styles S1 and S2 are focused on getting the task done. Styles S3 and S4 are more

concerned with developing team members' abilities to work independently.

Maturity Levels:

According to Hersey and Blanchard, knowing when to use each style is largely dependent on the

maturity of the person or group you're leading. They break maturity down into four different

levels:


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M1People at this level of maturity are at the bottom level of the scale. They lack theknowledge, skills, or confidence to work on their own, and they often need to be pushed to

take the task on.

M2at this level, followers might be willing to work on the task, but they still don't have theskills to complete it successfully.

M3Here, followers are ready and willing to help with the task. They have more skills than theM2 group, but they're still not confident in their abilities.

M4These followers are able to work on their own. They have high confidence and strongskills, and they're committed to the task.

The Hersey-Blanchard model maps each leadership style to each maturity level, as shown

below.

Maturity Level Most Appropriate Leadership Style

M1: Low maturity S1: Telling/directing

M2: Medium maturity, limited skills S2: Selling/coaching

M3: Medium maturity, higher skills but lacking

confidence

S3: Participating/supporting

M4: High maturity S4: Delegating

To use this model, reflect on the maturity of individuals within your team. The table above

shows which leadership style Hersey and Blanchard recommend for people with that level of

maturity.

Leadership Style Examples1. You're about to leave for an extended holiday, and your tasks will be handled by an

experienced colleague. He's very familiar with your responsibilities, and he's excited to do the

job.


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Instead of trusting his knowledge and skills to do the work, you spend hours creating a detailed

list of tasks for which he'll be responsible, and give full instructions on how to do them.

The result:

Your work gets done, but you've damaged the relationship with your colleague by your lack of

trust. He was an M4 in maturity, and yet you used an S1 leadership style instead of an S4, which

would have been more appropriate.

2. You've just been put in charge of leading a new team. It's your first time working with thesepeople. As far as you can tell, they have some of the necessary skills to reach the department's

goals, but not all of them. The good news is that they're excited and willing to do the work.

You estimate they're at an M3 maturity level, so you use the matching S3 leadership style. You

coach them through the project's goals, pushing and teaching where necessary, but largely

leaving them to make their own decisions. As a result, their relationship with you is

strengthened, and the team is successful.


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Bibliography

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm#sthash.QEPGJrCO.dpuf http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-laissez-faire-leader.html http://Youtube.com Google images Google web
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm#sthash.QEPGJrCO.dpufhttp://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-laissez-faire-leader.htmlhttp://youtube.com/http://youtube.com/http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-laissez-faire-leader.htmlhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm#sthash.QEPGJrCO.dpuf

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