The Styles of Leadership and the Role of a Team Leader

Learning Objectives• To know that there are many different leadership styles which are appropriate in different circumstances• To understand the characteristics of an authoritarian and a democratic leader• To evaluated these leadership styles and compare their usefulness in certain situations

Public Services, Unit 2: Task 1

You have been asked to:

Create a training leaflet for people who are new to the leadership role. You must describe the different leadership styles used in the public services (P1) and identify the role of the team leader in the public services (P2).  To attempt the merit criteria you must create a report comparing the different leadership styles used in the public services (M1).

To attempt the distinction criteria you must create a report which evaluates the effectiveness of different leadership styles used in the public services (D1)

Leadership QualitiesDecisiveness Adaptability

Courage Compassion

Leadership skillsCommunication Organisation and Multi-Tasking

Planning Motivating

Homework:Write down a definition of each of these terms and explain why it is an important skill or quality for a leader.

Due: Friday 13th

What is the role of a team leader?

Discuss with the person next to you…

Why do you need team leaders in the public services?

The team leader is a contact point for communication between team members. They should:

What is the role of the

team leader in the public

services?

• To maintain communication• To develop the team• To keep the team task focused• To listen• To show initiative when decisions need to be made• To reflect on successes and failures• To coordinate multi-agency responses• To encourage• To deal with any disputes

Leadership Styles

Authoritarian

Task Orientated

People Orientated

Democratic

Bureaucratic

Transformational

Transactional

Laissez-Faire

Copy the spider diagram of different leadership styles

Leave space for definitions of each one underneath

Authoritarian Leaders

An authoritarian leader is a leader who has absolute power and is not questioned.

Essentially if your leader says ‘Jump’ you say ‘How high?’

Task1. When might you use this style of leadership in the

Uniformed Public Services?2. How might this type of leader maintain order?3. Imagine you are in a team with an authoritarian leader, how

might you feel? Would this bring out the best in you? Why or why not?

Democratic Leaders

A democratic leader involves the whole team in decision making.

The leadership is structured, but the team can all contribute their ideas.

Lewin and Maslow developed this type of leadership as they found teams work better when they are lead like this.

What are the features of this style?

Task:Using a white board pen, divide the desk into two, and title one authoritarian and the other democratic.

Then work with a partner to separate the cards into the features of a democratic and an authoritarian leader.

Stick these into your notes.

Extension: Colour code the features in red which could be considered negatives of each style and in green the positives.

Advantages and Disadvantages of these styles

AUTHORITARIAN

Advantages Disadvantages

DEMOCRATIC

Advantages Disadvantages

Laissez-Faire

Question: When would this be a good leadership style, and when would it not be?

Laissez-faire means let them do what they like.

In this style of leadership, team members are given free rein to do what they like: The leader makes few decisions There aren’t many meetings or

discussions Few orders if any are given and these

are not enforced No effort is made to motivate the team Deadlines are not set People’s work is not checked The leader delegates tasks, but do not

check they are being done

Transactional

The leaders power comes from being able to give rewards or punishments. These could be bonuses/fines.

There is a power gap (like in authoritarian teams), but team members are not checked on during the task (like in laissez-faire).

Discuss:Would this be a good way to motivate you?

What problems could it lead to in your team?

This leadership works best with people who are interested in immediate gratification

Transformational

This leadership style aims to inspire others, so leaders are usually passionate and appeal to team members enthusiasm.

The leaders lead by example, some are charismatic, or are admired for their determination or courage. This is really motivating…

Discuss:

…but what if their ideas are bad? Or what would happen if the leader left the role?

Bureaucratic Leaders

This style of leadership focuses on:

Leaders can be authoritarian or democratic, but it is often labour intensive and unproductive.

It often occurs in the uniformed public services as it makes sure things are consistent and organised.

• Lists• Systems• Administration• Forms• Paperwork

• Recordkeeping• Reviewing• Monitoring• Discipline

Discuss:Do you think this is a useful style of leadership?

Which is the better style?

Think: Which type of leader are you more likely to respect?… to like? … to work hard for?… to achieve your objectives when led by? WHY?

Which leadership style would you prefer to work under?

Answer the question in your book, working on your own.

Be prepared to feedback to the class