LEADERSHIP SERIES

Styles of leadership

DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP STYLE

The manner and approach of providing

direction, implementing plans, and motivating

people.

Leading people is very much like directing an

orchestra

Lead Like The Great Conductors

THREE MAJOR STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

Authoritarian or autocratic

Participative or democratic

Delegative or Free Reign

AUTHORITARIAN OR AUTOCRATIC

“I want both of you to….”

This style is used when leaders tell their

employees what they want done and how they

want it accomplished, without getting the

advice of their followers.

PORTRAYED CHARACTERISTICS OF

AUTHORITARIAN

(AUTOCRATIC) Yelling

Using demeaning language

Leading by threats

Abusing their power

This is not authoritarian style but rather is an abusive, unprofessional style called “bossing people around”

It has no place in a leaders repertoire

PARTICIPATIVE (DEMOCRATIC)

“Let’s work together to solve this….”

This style involves the leader including one or

more employees in the decision making

process (determining what to do and how to do

it)

The leader maintains the final decision making

authority.

PRESUMED CHARACTERISTICS OF

PARTICIPATIVE (DEMOCRATIC)

Weakness

It’s actually a sign of strength that your employees will respect

Normally used when you have part of the information and your employees have other parts.

Leader is not expected to know everything – that’s why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees.

Use of this style is mutually beneficial – allows them to be part of the team and you to make better decisions.

DELEGATIVE (FREE REIGN)

“You two take care of the problem while I go….”

Leader allows the employees to make the decisions.

Leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made.

Used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it.

You can’t do everything, set priorities and delegate certain tasks

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO DELEGATIVE (FREE

REIGN)

Not a style to use so that you can blame others

when things go wrong.

Use when you fully trust and have confidence in

those you lead.

Don’t be afraid to use BUT, use it wisely!

A GOOD (SUCCESSFUL) LEADER

Uses all three styles

Let’s discuss some instances where each style

would be useful.

FORCES THAT INFLUENCE STYLE TO BE USED

Time available

Relationships – Is there Trust? Respect? Disrespect?

Who has the information? You, employee, or both?

How well are employees trained?

How well do you know the task?

Internal conflicts

Stress levels

Type of task: is it structured, unstructured, complicated or simple?

Company policy or supervisor preference

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE APPROACHES

There is a difference in ways leaders approach

their employees.

Most leaders do not strictly use one or another,

but are somewhere on a continuum ranging

from extremely positive to extremely negative.

POSITIVE APPROACH

Use rewards

Education

Independence

These are used as motivators for employees

NEGATIVE APPROACH

Act domineering and superior with people.

They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimanding employees in front of others etc.

They believe their authority is increased by frightening everyone into higher levels of productivity.

Has a place in leader’s repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to it’s high cost on the human spirit.

CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE APPROACH

Morale falls

Low productivity

Those who continuously work out of the

negative are bosses while those who primarily

work out of positive are considered real

leaders.

CONSIDERATION AND STRUCTURE

Two other style options for leaders

Consideration and structure are independent of

each other, so they should not be viewed on

opposite ends of a continuum.

Example: a leader who becomes more considerate,

does not necessarily mean that she has become

less structured.

CONSIDERATION (EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION)

Leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees.

They build teamwork

Help employees with their problems*

Provide psychological support*

*On a professional not clinical level

Evidence of leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are employees who are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job.

STRUCTURED (TASK ORIENTATION)

Leaders believe that they get results by

consistently keeping people busy and urging

them to produce.

THE BLAKE MOUTON MANAGERIAL GRID

UNDERSTANDING THE MODEL

Based on two behavioral dimensions

Concern for People

Concern for Production

CONCERN FOR PEOPLE

The degree to which a leader considers the

needs of team members, their interests, and

areas of personal development when deciding

how best to accomplish a task.

CONCERN FOR PRODUCTION

The degree to which a leader emphasizes

concrete objectives, organizational efficiency

and high productivity when deciding how best

to accomplish a task

FIVE LEADERSHIP STYLES

1. Country Club Management

2. Team Management

3. Middle-of-the-Road Management

4. Impoverished Management

5. Authority-Compliance Management

COUNTRY CLUB MANAGEMENT – HIGH

PEOPLE/LOW PRODUCTION

Thoughtful attention to the needs of people for satisfying relationships leads to a comfortable, friendly organization atmosphere and work tempo.

Leader is most concerned about the needs and feelings of member members of his/her team.

They operate under the assumption that as long as team members are happy and secure then they will work hard.

Result – work environment that is very relaxed and fun but where production suffers due to lack of direction and control.

PRODUCE OR PERISH LEADERSHIP – HIGH

PRODUCTION/LOW PEOPLE

Also known as Authoritarian or Compliance Leaders

Believe that employees are simply a means to an end.

Employee needs are always secondary to the need for efficient and productive workplaces.

Very autocratic, has strict work rules, policies and procedures, and views punishment as the most effective means to motivate employees.

IMPOVERISHED LEADERSHIP – LOW

PRODUCTION/LOW PEOPLE

Leader is mostly ineffective.

Has neither a high regard for creating systems

for getting the job done, nor for creating a work

environment that is satisfying and motivating.

Result – a place of disorganization,

dissatisfaction and disharmony

MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD LEADERSHIP – MEDIUM

PRODUCTION/MEDIUM PEOPLE

Seems to be a balance of the two competing concerns.

May first appear to be an ideal compromise.

Result – problem is when you compromise, you necessarily give away a but of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are fully met. Leaders who use this settle for average performance and often believe that this is the most anyone can expect.

TEAM LEADERSHIP – HIGH PRODUCTION/HIGH

PEOPLE

According to the Blake Mouton model, this is

the pinnacle of managerial style.

These leaders stress less production needs

and the needs of the people equally highly.

Employees are involved in understanding

organizational purpose and determining

production needs.

APPLYING THE BLAKE MOUTON MANAGERIAL

GRID

Being aware of the various approaches is the

first step in understanding and improving how

well you perform as a manager.

It is important to understand how you currently

operate, then you can identify way of becoming

competent in both realms.

APPLYING THE BLAKE MOUTON MANAGERIAL

GRID

1. Identify your leadership style

2. Identify areas of improvement and develop

your leadership skills

3. Put the Grid in Context

APPLYING THE BLAKE MOUTON MANAGERIAL

GRID

Is a practical and useful framework that helps you think about your leadership style.

By plotting ‘concern for production’ against ‘concern for people’, the grid highlights how placing too much emphasis in one area at the expense of the other leads to low overall productivity.

This model proposes that when both people and production concerns are high, employee engagement and productivity increases accordingly.

WHAT STYLE(S) DO YOU CURRENTLY USE?

Do you have a style that you use?

If you did, has this information caused you to

rethink this choice?

If you didn’t, will you now begin using one or

several?

CLOSING THOUGHTS