1. Leadership Styles

UNIVERSIDAD DE LAS FUERZAS ARMADAS ESPE EXTENSIN LATACUNGA

DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIAS ECONMICAS, ADMINISTRATIVAS Y DEL COMERCIOLEADERSHIP____________________________________________________________________________

Leadership stylesAleadership styleis a leader's style of providing direction, implementing plans, andmotivatingpeople. There are many differentleadership stylesthat can be exhibited by leaders in the political, business or other fields.Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. As seen by the employees, it includes the total pattern of explicit and implicit action of their leaders (Newstrom, Davis, 1993).In 1939 Kurt Lewin led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership (Lewin, LIippit, White, 1939). This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership styles: (U.S. Army, 1973):Contents 1Authoritarian 2Paternalistic 3Democratic 4Laissez-faire 5Transactional 5.1Effect on work teams 6Transformational

AuthoritarianTheauthoritarianleadership styleorautocraticleaderkeeps strict, close control over followers by keeping close regulation of policies and procedures given to followers. To keep main emphasis on the distinction of the authoritarian leader and their followers, these types of leaders make sure to only create a distinctprofessionalrelationship. Directsupervisionis what they believe to be key in maintaining a successful environment and follower ship. In fear of followers being unproductive, authoritarian leaders keep close supervision and feel this is necessary in order for anything to be done.Examples of authoritarian communicative behavior: a police officer directing traffic, a teacher ordering a student to do his or her assignment, and a supervisor instructing a subordinate to clean a workstation. All of these positions require a distinct set of characteristics that give the leader the position to get things in order or get a point across. Authoritarian Traits: sets goals individually, engages primarily in one-way and downward communication, controls discussion with followers, and donates interactionAuthoritarian 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. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has absolutely no place in a leader's repertoire.The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style.

PaternalisticThe way a Paternalistic leader works is by acting as a father figure by taking care of their subordinates as a parent would. In this style of leadership the leader supplies complete concern for his followers or workers. In return he receives the complete trust and loyalty of his people. Workers under this style of leader are expected to become totally committed to what the leader believes and will not strive off and work independently. The relationship between these co-workers and leader are extremely solid. The workers are expected to stay with a company for a longer period of time because of the loyalty and trust. Not only do they treat each other like family inside the work force, but outside too. These workers are able to go to each other with any problems they have regarding something because they believe in what they say is going to truly help them.One of the downsides to a paternalistic leader is that the leader could start to play favorites in decisions. This leader would include the workers more apt to follow and start to exclude the ones who were less loyal. In todays market paternalism is more difficult to come by according to Padavic and Earnest who wrote business dimensional and Organizational Counseling. They believe this because there have become more lay-offs and stronger unionization. This affects paternalistic leaders because the co-workers may not believe that their jobs are 100% ensured. When this happens, workers begin to look for bigger and better job opportunities instead of staying at one company for a longer period of time. Because of this, The leader may be thinking that you could be leaving and not fully believe you when you tell them something about a job opportunity. This could put the workers and leader at risk for a bad situation.According to B. M. Bass who wroteLeadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, workers who follow paternalistic leadership also have better organization skills. The leader encourages organization because they allow the workers to complete tasks so that they can stay on top of their work. The workers complete tasks this boosts self-confidence and it makes them work harder to reach a goal and exceed the goal to prove to their boss they are working hard. Having this style of leadership can also help implement a reward system. This system will allow their workers to work even better because there is something for them at the end of the tunnel. While doing this they will also be able to accomplish more work in a set time frame.

PaternalismPaternalism has at times been equated with leadership styles. Most definitions of leadership normally state or imply that one of the actions within leadership is that ofinfluencing. For example, the U.S. Army (1983) uses the following definition:Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.The Army further goes on by defininginfluenceas:A means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the means or method to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there is more to influencing than simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an examplegood or badwith every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose, direction, and motivation.Paternalismis defined as (Webster Dictionary):A system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relationships to authority and to each other.Thus, paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while leadership gets things done. The first is directed inwards, while the latter is directed outwards.Geert Hofstede (1997) studied culture within organizations. Part of his study was on the dependence relationship orPower Differencethe extent to which the less powerful members of an organization expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Hofstede gave this story to illustrate the concept of Power Difference:The last revolution in Sweden disposed of King Gustav IV, whom they considered incompetent, and surprising invited Jean Baptise Bernadotte, a French general who served under Napoleon, to become their new King. He accepted and became King Charles XIV. Soon afterward he needed to address the Swedish Parliament. Wanting to be accepted, he tried to do the speech in their language. His broken language amused the Swedes so much that they roared with laughter. The Frenchman was so upset that he never tried to speak Swedish again.Bernadotte was a victim of culture shocknever in his French upbringing and military career had he experienced subordinates who laughed at the mistakes of their superior. This story has a happy ending as he was considered very good and ruled the country as a highly respected constitutional monarch until 1844. (His descendants still occupy the Swedish throne.)Sweden differs from France in the way its society handles inequality (those in charge and the followers). To measure inequality or Power Difference, Hofstede studied three survey questions from a larger survey that both factored and carried the same weight:

DemocraticThedemocraticleadership styleconsists of the leader sharing thedecision-makingabilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members and by practicingsocial equality. This style of leadership encompasses discussion, debate and sharing of ideas and encouragement of people to feel good about their involvement. The boundaries of democratic participation tend to be circumscribed by the organization or the group needs and the instrumental value of people's attributes (skills, attitudes, etc.). The democratic style encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the group's decisions. However, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control by a specific leader. The democratic style demands the leader to make decisions on who should be called upon within the group and who is given the right to participate in, make and vote on decisions.Traits of a Good Leader compiled by theSanta Clara Universityand theTom PetersGroup: Honest Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust. Competent Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings. Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values. Inspiring Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary. Intelligent Read, study, and seek challenging assignments. Fair-minded Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others. Broad-minded Seek out diversity. Courageous Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress. Straightforward Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time. Imaginative Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!

Research has found that this leadership style is one of the most effective and creates higher productivity, better contributions from group members and increased group morale. Democratic leadership can lead to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems because group members are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. While democratic leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles, it does have some potential downsides. In situations where roles are unclear or time is of the essence, democratic leadership can lead to communication failures and uncompleted projects. Democratic 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.

Participative or 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). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect.This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. A leader is not expected to know everythingthis is why you employ knowledgeable and skilled people. Using this style is of mutual benefit as it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.

Laissez-faireThelaissez-faireleadership style is where all the rights and power to make decisions is fully given to the worker.This was first described by Lewin, Lippitt, and White in 1938, along with the autocratic leadership and the democratic leadership styles. The laissez-faire style is sometimes described as a "hands off" leadership style because the leader delegates the tasks to their followers while providing little or no direction to the followers. If the leader withdraws too much from their followers it can sometimes result in a lack of productivity, cohesiveness, and satisfaction. Laissez-faire leaders allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work. It allows followers a high degree of autonomy andself-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. The laissez-faire leader using guided freedom provides the followers with all materials necessary to accomplish their goals, but does not directly participate in decision making unless the followers request their assistance.

This is an effective style to use when: Followers are highly skilled, experienced, and educated. Followers have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own. Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are being used. Followers are trustworthy and experienced.This style should NOT be used when: Followers feel insecure at the unavailability of a leader. The leader cannot or will not provide regular feedback to their followers.

Delegative or Laissez-faire

You two take care of the problem while I go. . .In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and have confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely!

TransactionalThe transactional style of leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947 and then later described by Bernard Bass in 1981. Mainly used bymanagement, transactional leaders focus their leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments. There are two factors which form the basis for this system,ContingentReward and management-by-exception. Contingent RewardProvides rewards, materialistic or psychological, for effort and recognizes good performance. Management-by-Exceptionallows the leader to maintain the status quo. The leader intervenes when subordinates do not meet acceptable performance levels and initiates corrective action to improve performance. Management by exception helps reduce the workload of managers being that they are only called-in when workers deviate from course.This type of leader identifies the needs of their followers and gives rewards to satisfy those needs in exchange of certain level of performance.

Transactional leaders focus on increasing the efficiency of established routines and procedures. They are more concerned with following existing rules than with making changes to the organization.

A transactional leader establishes and standardizes practices that will help the organization reach: Maturity Goal-setting Efficiency of operation Increasing productivity.

Effect on work teamsSurvey done by Jun Liu, Xiaoyu Liu and Xianju Zeng on the correlation of transactional leadership and how innovations can be affected by team emotions. The research was composed of 90 work teams, with a total of 460 members and 90 team leaders. The study found that there is a relationship between emotions, labor behavior and transactional leadership that affect for the team. Depending on the level of emotions of the team; this can affect the transactional leader in a positive or negative way.Transactional leaders work better in teams where there is a lower level of emotions going into the project. This is because individuals are able to Think freely when setting their emotions aside from their work. Have all of their focus on the given task.A transactional leader is:1. Negatively affected when the emotional level is high.2. Positively affected when the emotional level is low.Transactional leadership presents a form of strategic leadership that is important for the organizations development. Transactional leadership is essential for team innovativeness.

TransformationalA transformational leader is a type of person in which the leader is not limited by his or her followers' perception. The main objective is to work tochangeortransformhis or her followers' needsandredirecttheir thinking.

Leaders that follow the transformation style of leading,challengeandinspiretheir followers with a sense of purpose and excitement.They also create a vision of what they aspire to be, and communicate this idea to others (their followers). According to Schultz and Schultz, there are three identified characteristics of a transformational leader: Charismatic leadership has a broad knowledge of field, has a self-promoting personality, high/great energy level, and willing to take risk and use irregular strategies in order to stimulate their followers to think independently Individualized consideration Intellectual stimulation

Developing the visionTransformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. The important factor is the leader buys into it, hook, line and sinker.

Selling the visionThe next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision. This takes energy and commitment, as few people will immediately buy into a radical vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others. The Transformational Leader thus takes every opportunity and will use whatever works to convince others to climb on board the bandwagon.In order to createfollowers, the Transformational Leader has to be very careful in creating trust, and their personal integrity is a critical part of the package that they are selling. In effect, they are selling themselves as well as the vision.

Finding the way forwardsIn parallel with the selling activity is seeking the way forward. Some Transformational Leaders know the way, and simply want others to follow them. Others do not have a ready strategy, but will happily lead the exploration of possible routes to the promised land.

The route forwards may not be obvious and may not be plotted in details, but with a clear vision, thedirectionwill always be known. Thus finding the way forward can be an ongoing process of course correction, and the Transformational Leader will accept that there will be failures and blind canyons along the way. As long as they feel progress is being made, they will be happy.

Leading the chargeThe final stage is to remain up-front and central during the action. Transformational Leaders are always visible and will stand up to be counted rather than hide behind their troops. They show by their attitudes and actions how everyone else should behave. They also make continued efforts to motivate and rally their followers, constantly doing the rounds, listening, soothing and enthusing.

It is their unswerving commitment as much as anything else that keeps people going, particularly through the darker times when some may question whether the vision can ever be achieved. If the people do not believe that they can succeed, then their efforts will flag. The Transformational Leader seeks to infect and reinfect their followers with a high level of commitment to the vision.

One of the methods the Transformational Leader uses to sustain motivation is in the use of ceremonies, rituals and other cultural symbolism. Small changes get big hurrahs, pumping up their significance as indicators of real progress.Overall, they balance their attention between action that creates progress and the mental state of their followers. Perhaps more than other approaches, they are people-oriented and believe that success comes first and last through deep and sustained commitment.

Finally, Transformational Leaders, by definition, seek to transform. When the organization does not need transforming and people are happy as they are, then such a leader will be frustrated. Like wartime leaders, however, given the right situation they come into their own and can be personally responsible for saving entire companies.

Continuum of Leader BehaviorIn 1958 Tannenbaum and Schmid (1958, 1973) expanded on Lewin, LIippit, and White's, three leadership styles by extending them to seven styles and placing them on a continuum as shown in the diagram below:

Notice that as you go from left to right, it moves from manager oriented decision making to subordinate oriented decision making, thus the teams freedom increases while the managers authority decreases. Depending upon the present level of your team's experience and skills, you select a starting point and as the team develops, you move from it to the next one:Basically the first two styles or behaviors are similar the authoritarian style, the next three are similar to the participative style, while the last two are similar to the delegative style. This approach gives the leader more options that can be refined to specific situations or environments.

Positive and Negative ApproachesThere is a difference in ways leaders approach their employees. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees, while negative employers emphasize penalties (Newstrom, Davis, 1993). The negative approach has a place in a leader's repertoire of tools in certain situations; however, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit.Negative leaders 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. Yet, what normally happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls, which leads to lower productivity.Most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses, while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered great leaders.ReferencesHofstede, G. (1997).Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mindnew York: McGraw-Hill.Lewin, K., LIippit, R., White, R.K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates.Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301Newstrom, J.W., Davis, K. (1993).Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.Schriesheim, C.A. (1982). The Great High Consideration: High Initiating Structure Leadership Myth: Evidence on its Generalizability.The Journal of Social Psychology, April 1982, 116, pp. 221-228.

Stogdill, R.M. (1974).Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and and Research. New York: Free Press.Tannenbaum, A.S., Schmitt, W.H. (1958). How to choose a leadership pattern.Harvard Business Review, 36, March-April, 95-101.Tannenbaum, A.S., Schmitt, W.H. (1973). How to Choose a Leadership Pattern.Harvard Business Review Reprint, 36, May-June, 4-12.U.S. Army. (1983).Military Leadership. Field Manual 22-100. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.- See more at: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadstl.html#sthash.QoMT4w63.dpuf

_____________________________________________________________________________Dr. Carlos Proao Rodrguez, Mgt. 19