UNIT 4

LEADERSHIP STYLES

1. Laissez faire leadership style

• Laissez-faire leadership, also known as delegative leadership

• Laissez-faire is a policy or practice of letting people act without
interference or direction.
• It is also known as the hands off style of leadership
• This leader exercises little control over his followers
• Laissez-faire leaders abandon their responsibility, delay
decisions, give no feedback, and make little effort to help
followers satisfy their needs.
• For example: When a homeowner is allowed to plant whatever they
want to grow in their front yard without having to get permission from
their city.
• Laissez-faire leaders have an attitude of trust and reliance on their
employees.
• They don't micromanage or get too involved, they don't give too much
instruction or guidance.
• Instead laissez-faire leaders let their employees use their creativity,
resources, and experience to help them meet their goals
• is a type of leadership style in which leaders are hands-off and allow group
members to make the decisions
• This autonomy can make group members feel more satisfied with their
work.
• Laissez-faire leadership is the direct opposite of autocratic
leadership.
• Instead of a single leader making all decisions for an organization, group
or team, laissez-faire leaders make few decisions
• These leaders allow their staff to choose appropriate workplace solutions.
• The management structure tends to be flat, meaning it lacks hierarchy.
• Team members might wonder who the final decision maker is or can
complain about a lack of leadership which can translate to lack of
direction.
DISADVANTAGES:
• Lack of role clarity in some situations, the Laissez Faire style
leads to poorly defined roles within the groups.
• Poor involvement with the group, Laissez Faire leaders are
often seen as uninvolved and withdrawn, which can lead to
a lack of cohesiveness within a group.
2. Autocratic leadership style

• Autocratic leadership is also known as Authoritarian leadership

 Autocratic leadership is a style of leadership characterised by
individual control over all decisions.
• A leadership style characterized by individual control over all
decisions

• little input from group members

• An authoritarian leadership style is exemplified when a leader

dictates policies and procedures

• decides what goals are to be achieved

• directs and controls all activities without any meaningful

participation by the subordinates

• Such a leader has full control of the team, leaving low autonomy
within the group

• Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their ideas

and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers

• make all the important decisions

• Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their ideas and

judgements and rarely accept advice from followers

• Highly structured environment structures, is an absolute must in

any organisation

• Clearly defined rules and processes.

 • It is a management style where in one person controls all the
decisions and takes very little inputs from other group members

• It is only effective when used for specific solutions

STRENGHTS:

o Decision can be made very quickly

o Organisational goals are reached unambiguously
o There is a clear chain of command
o Productivity can greatly improved
o Creativity can be stifled
o Not everyone feels aligned with the vision
o Autonomy is reduced

DISADVANTAGES:

• often leads to micromanagement

• It does not offer a sense of professional ownership It
• It creates a work culture based on the leader
• It creates a system of dependence
• It creates a lack of trust
• Can damage group moral and causes resentment when people are not
involved in decision making
• They feel their contributions are not valued

3. DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

• Democratic leadership is also called Participative leadership or shared

leadership
• It is a type of leadership in which members of the group take a more
participative role in the decision-making process
• It is about distributing power or gaining consensus
• The manager leads the team by gathering input, encouraging
collaborations, and valuing the expertise of team members, while each
team member contributes to the decision-making process
 • Democratic leadership style can create feelings of uncertainty within a
team because of the need to make fast decision sometimes
• If leaders, make these needed decisions without consulting their team,
then team members may wonder when, or if they will be consulted for
future needs
• Under this leadership style, the leader still retains final responsibility
for the groups decision
• Democracy in leadership is often most effective, when a leader is
working with highly skilled or experienced workers
• It allows the leader to capitalise on their employees’ individual talents
and strengths, while also benefiting from the power of the whole
• Democratic leader keeps the lines of communication open

PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

• Promotion of free flow of ideas

• The inspiration of trust and respect
• An emphasis on morality and values
• Competence
• An honest and open mind

Transformational Leadership

 It is type of leadership approach that causes changes in individuals

and social systems.
 In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the
followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders.
 They articulate a vision that’s appealing and inspiring to followers,
providing a vivid mental image of the long term goals and
aspirations
 This is crucial, especially during times of drastic internal
organisational change
 Transformational leadership provide change and movement in
their organisations.
 Such leaders seek to alter a new vision and new possibilities
 Excellent transformational leaders use authority and power to
inspire and motivate people to trust and follow example
  Transformational leaders focus on “transforming” others to
support each other and the organisation as a whole
 Followers of a transformational leader respond by feeling trust,
admiration, loyalty and respect for the leader and are more willing
to work harder than originally expected
 Transformational leadership characteristics:
 Is a model of integrity and fairness
 Sets clear goals
 Has high expectations
 Encourages others
 Provides support and recognition
 Stirs the emotions of people
 Gets people to look beyond their self-interest
 Inspires people to reach for the improbable
 Creativity and autonomy
 Focus on scale and goals
 Collaboration among team members
 Balanced risk taking
 Strong leadership ego

Advantages of Transformational leadership

 Establishes strong relationships

 Serves as an ideal influence
 Helps bring enthusiasm and motivation into being
 Encourages learning and stimulates creativity
 Reduces employee turnover
Factors of transformational leadership:

 Idealised influence
 Inspirational motivation
 Intellectual stimulation
 Individual consideration
 Transactional leadership

 Transactional leadership focuses on supervision, organisation, and

performance.
 It’s a leadership style where leaders rely on rewards and punishment
to achieve optimal job performance from their subordinates
 It is an integral part of the of the full range of leadership model, it was
born during industrial revolution as a source of competitive advantage
 Leaders are concerned with processes rather than forward thinking
ideas
 It involves motivating and directing followers primarily through
appealing to their own self interest
 As compared to transformational, transactional leadership depends on
self-motivated people who work well in a structured, directed
environment
 Seeks to motivate and inspire workers, choosing influence rather than
direct others
 They are generally split into three dimensions:
1. Contingent rewards
2. Management –by-exception (active)
3. Management-by-exception (passive)
 Transactional leadership style focused on short-term goals
 Favour structured policies and procedures
 Thrive on following rules and doing things correctly