4 types of leadership styles PDF

The total pattern of leaders’ actions as perceived by their employees is called leadership style. It represents the leaders’ philosophy, skills and attitudes in practice.

It is necessary to study the different leadership styles from which an appropriate style can be selected, depending upon the situation in which leadership is to be exercised and the nature of the followers involved.

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Positive and Negative Leaders or Bosses

There are different ways in which leaders approach people to motivate them. If the approach emphasizes rewards, the leader uses positive leadership. If the approach emphasizes penalties, the leader is applying negative leadership. Negative leaders should be called bosses rather than leaders.

There are three classes of supervisory techniques – autocratic, participative or consultative and free-rein and corresponding to these three techniques, there are three management styles – autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. To these one more may be added-paternalistic style.

1. Autocratic or Authoritarian leadership

An autocratic leader centralizes power and decision-making in himself. He gives orders, assigns tasks and duties without consulting the employees. The leader takes full authority and assumes full responsibility.

Autocratic leadership is negative, based on threats and punishment. Subordinates act as he directs. He neither cares for their opinions nor permits them to influence the decision. He believes that because of his authority he alone can decide what is best in a given situation.

Autocratic leadership is based upon close supervision, clear-cut direction and commanding order of the superior. It facilitates quick decisions, prompt action and unity of direction. It depends on a lesser degree of delegation. But too much use of authority might result in strikes and industrial disputes. It is likely to produce frustration and retard the growth of the capacity of employees.

The employees work as hard as is necessary to avoid punishment. They will thus produce the minimum which will escape punishment.

This leadership style is less likely to be effective because (i) the new generation is more independent and less submissive and not amenable to rigid control; (ii) people look for ego satisfactions from their jobs and (iii) revolution of rising expectations changed the attitude of the people.

Autocratic leadership may be divided into three classes:

(A) The hard-boiled autocrat who relies mainly on negative influences uses the force of fear and punishment in directing his subordinates towards the organisational goals. This is likely to result in employees becoming resentful.

(B) The benevolent autocrat who relies mainly on positive influences uses the reward and incentives in directing his subordinates towards the organisational goals. By using praise and pats on the back he secures the loyalty of subordinates who accept his decisions.

(C) The manipulative autocrat who makes the employees feels that they are participating in decision-making though the manager himself has taken the decision. McGregor labels this style as Theory X.

2. Democratic or Participative leadership

Participative or democratic leaders decentralise authority. It is characterised by consultation with the subordinates and their participation in the formulation of plans and policies. He encourages participation in decision-making.

He leads the subordinates mainly through persuasion and example rather than fear and force. Sometimes the leader serves as a moderator of the ideas and suggestions from his group. McGregor labels this style as Theory Y.

Taylor’s scientific management was based on the inability of the ordinary employees to make effective decisions about their work. Hence the decision-making power was vested with the management. But recent studies indicate the need for participation by subordinates. The modern trend favours sharing the responsibility with the employees.

This will foster enthusiasm in them. The employees feel that management is interested in them as well as in their ideas and suggestions. They will, therefore, place their suggestions for improvement.

Advantages for democratic leadership are as follows: (i) higher motivation and improved morale; (ii) increased co-operation with the management; (iii) improved job performance; (iv) reduction of grievances and (v) reduction of absenteeism and employee turnover.

3. The Laissez-faire or Free-rein leadership

Free-rein leaders avoid power and responsibility. The laissez-faire or non-interfering type of leader passes on the responsibility for decision-making to his subordinates and takes a minimum of initiative in administration. He gives no direction and allows the group to establish its own goals and work out its own problems.

The leader plays only a minor role. His idea is that each member of the group when left to himself will put forth his best effort and the maximum results can be achieved in this way. The leader acts as an umpire. But as no direction or control is exercised over the people, the organisation is likely to flounder.

An experiment conducted among Boy Scout Clubs of the USA in 1940 shows autocratic leadership is likely to rouse antagonism in the group and produce hostility towards the leader. In democratic groups, the absence of the leader made little difference, while in autocratic groups productive work dropped to a minimum, when the leader was out of the room.

Democratic leadership is more likely to win the loyalty of the group. The laissez-faire groups also developed friendly approaches to the leader as in the democratic group. But suggestions from the groups were very low and they were also less productive.

4. Paternalistic leadership

Under this management style the leader assumes that his function is fatherly or paternal. Paternalism means papa knows best. The relationship between the leader and his group is the same as the relationship between the head of the family and the members of the family. The leader guides and protects his subordinates as members of his family.

As the head of the family he provides his subordinates with good working conditions and fringe benefits. It is assumed that workers will work harder out of gratitude. This leadership style was admirably successful in Japan with her peculiar social background.

This leadership style has still been widely prevalent in small firms in India. However, this paternalistic approach is unlikely to work with mature adult employees, many of whom do not like their interests to be looked after by a “godfather.” Instead of gratitude, it might generate antagonism and resentment in the subordinates.