Variations in Leadership Styles

There isn’t one single style of leadership, but many different styles. There is no type of leader that is considered the best but their style will need to suit their personality and what must be accomplished. Leadership style is also determined by the environment as well like the style necessary for a project manager that’s head of an important business initiative will be different from a camp leader for a summer camp program. This article will look into the different leadership styles and what the pros and cons of each are.

A particular traditional style of leadership is called the autocratic style. This is where the leader basically tells every person what to do, without taking into account anyone else’s viewpoint. An autocratic leader does not tolerate any dissent, and doesn’t even like others asking questions that suggest other choices are possible. The autocratic style isn’t notably popular in any setting and often causes a revolt of some kind. Autocratic leadership does have its place but you’re going to find it pretty much nonexistent in the business arena.

The next leadership type is the Laissez Faire style where it’s the exact opposite of the autocratic style. Usually, somebody who uses the laissez faire style would let their subordinates do what they need to do in their own way with hardly any input from the top. This type of leadership can be very successful if every person involved is proficient at what they do and are really self motivated. It typically works best in family businesses or small sized enterprises where the people know each other well. In bigger businesses, it can lead to inefficiency and some people not carrying their weight. In fact, a lot of employees need a certain amount of guidance to focus properly and it can be a mistake to assume that everyone is prepared to take responsibility and think for themselves.

The charismatic style of leadership is one that depends on the persona of the leader to motivate those around him. You will discover lots of charismatic leaders on the news as they are very entertaining. A lot of people respond favorably to the charismatic leader since these leaders have a way of uplifting them. Nonetheless, not everyone is can be charismatic and it is something that can’t be quickly taught. This may also result in errors when the charismatic leader is wrong but people are way too much under his spell to realize it. If an individual who is charismatic but also has excellent business sense will make an excellent leader otherwise a business could sink without the people realizing it.

We’ve looked at several different styles of leadership, although there are definitely others as well. Given that every person is different, you’ll discover leaders that blend many of the different leadership styles to make it their own. If you’d like to improve your leadership skills, it’s wise to examine the various types of leadership styles and see what you can learn from every one of them.