Transcript My Style Your Style - Ontario Library Service

6 Leadership Styles; Identifying and
Understanding Leadership
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Introduction to Leadership
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The Six Styles of Leadership
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Which One Are You?
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Quotes
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Who Are We Going To See
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George Litwin and Robert Stringer of Harvard
Business School studied the behaviour of
managers as leaders in various settings. They
concluded that managers exhibit a variety of
patterned behaviours that can be described
generally by one or more of 6 fundamental
managerial styles.
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According to what I've read, managers often
mistakenly assume that leadership style is a
function of their personality rather than a
strategic choice. As a result, they choose one
style that suits their temperament when
instead they should select a style that best
addresses the demands of a particular
situation. Of course, this is much easier said
than done.
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The research goes on to show that the most
successful leaders have strengths in several
emotional intelligence competencies
including self-awareness, self-regulation,
motivation, empathy, and social skill.
Furthermore, there are six basic styles of
leadership with each making use of the key
components of emotional intelligence in
different combinations. Finally, the best
leaders are familiar with not just one style of
leadership, but rather they make use of
several and have the flexibility to switch
between styles as the circumstances dictate.
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Why is leadership style important? Because it
directly impacts the organizational climate
which in turn accounts for nearly a third of
financial performance. That's a large enough
percentage that it warrants becoming familiar
with the styles that Litwin and Stringer
identified. Here they are:
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From my experience in the corporate world, this
is the most common style. It is the "do what I tell
you to do" technique that many people rely on
because it seems easy. It's also the style that
junior managers or those that are frustrated will
fall back on. The unfortunate result is that in
most situations, coercive leadership inhibits the
organization's flexibility and dampens
employees' motivation. I would argue that this is
a good technique for leaders and managers to
use with junior personnel who simply don't have
the knowledge to make informed decisions.
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I don't like the name of this style. The term
has negative connotations for me and yet it is
a style that is effective in many situations. An
authoritative leader uses the "come with me"
approach by stating the overall goal, but
giving people the freedom to choose their
own means of achieving it. This style works
especially well when a business is adrift. It is
less effective when the leader is working with
a team of experts who are more experienced
than he is. As my familiarity in a particular
area or with a particular business unit
increases, I believe I respond well to this form
of management.
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I'm not too familiar with the pure affiliative
style of leading and managing, but I have
seen the negatives that such a technique can
have. This style believes that "people come
first" and is particularly useful for building
team harmony or increasing morale. The
negative? Its exclusive focus on praise can
allow poor performance to go uncorrected. I
don't know about you, but having a happygo-lucky manager who doesn't cut people
that aren't pulling their weight doesn't make
want to work particularly hard.
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According to the research, this style's impact on
organizational climate is not as high as most
people might imagine. There's no question that
by giving workers a voice in decisions,
democratic leaders build organizational flexibility
and responsibility and help generate fresh ideas.
The downside is that such a style can lead to
endless meetings and confused employees who
feel leaderless. I think a lot of managers use this
style exclusively when they first start out as they
fail to realize that they're not employed to be
everyone's friend, but rather to move the
business forward.
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On paper the pacesetting style sounds quite
exhilarating (to me anyway) since the leader who
sets high performance standards and exemplifies
them himself has a very positive impact on
employees who are self-motivated and highly
competent. The problem is that many employees
who are just at work because they need to pay
their rent tend to feel overwhelmed by such a
leader's demands for excellence--and to resent
his tendency to take over a situation. I think this
style shouldn't be confused with the "just do it"
attitude that some managers exhibit without
providing any direction, resources, or time.
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This last style focuses more on personal
development than on immediate work-related
tasks. It works well when employees are
already aware of their weaknesses and want
to improve, but not when they are resistant to
changing their ways. I'd hazard a guess and
say that this style will only be effective with a
small percentage of people on any given
team.
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What Works for Human Resources
Making the Most of Leadership Qualities and
Skills
By Lisa Maloney
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How to get the biggest return on your
investment in leadership qualities and skills.
Leadership skill means more than just
steering your own career effectively. You
should also be able to recognize, inspire and
develop the best in others. For a CEO or
business owner, that means setting high
standards in leadership excellence for
employees and contractors, then making sure
they have the tools to meet those standards.
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Making the most of leadership qualities and skills
means putting the right people with the right
leadership qualities in the right place at the right
time. This, in turn, demands that you:
1. Understand the difference between
management and leadership.
2. Find ways to evaluate whether a given
employee has the skills needed for leadership.
3. Recognize that leaders are made and give your
employees a chance to focus on improving
leadership skills.
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Recognize that all managers may not have
leadership skills
Managers handle things as they come and
make sure the company and its employees
can 'manage' or get by. Leaders, on the other
hand, actively visualize, seek to improve and
find ways of getting others involved in and
invested in a shared vision of excellence.
Make sure that you know the difference
between what it means to cope or to excel,
then pass that knowledge on to your
employees.
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Learn how to measure the qualities and skills
for effective leadership
'Leadership ability' may seem like an
ephemeral quality that's hard to pin down,
but using professional evaluation tools can
help you to quantify what you're looking for
and, over time, evaluate employee progress
in areas like staying focused, honesty and
reliability.
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Encourage employees to develop latent
leadership talents into effective leadership
qualities
Leaders must be given the opportunities and
support they need to bloom. Look for
potential business leadership qualities, like
the ability to visualize and to measure
progress, in your prospective employees.
Then make sure to give them the chance to
develop into effective team leaders.
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Management is doing things right; leadership
is doing the right things. ~ Peter Drucker
Leadership is the art of getting someone else
to do something you want done because he
wants to do it. ~ Dwight Eisenhower
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I suppose leadership at one time meant
muscles; but today it means getting along
with people. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
It is better to lead from behind and to put
others in front, especially when you celebrate
victory when nice things occur. You take the
front line when there is danger. Then people
will appreciate your leadership. ~ Nelson
Mandela
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If I have seen farther than others, it is
because I was standing on the shoulder of
giants. ~ Issac Newton
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If you want anything said, ask a man. If you
want something done, ask a woman. ~
Margaret Thatcher
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Psycho-Geometrics – Susan Dellinger, Ph.D.
Medicine Wheel: Earth Astrology – Sun Bear
and Wabun