Leadership is a dynamic skill and constantly changes according to the system and the need of the situation. A wise leader knows the knack to mould himself from one style to other. Great leader has the ability to create a positive impact on the fellow workers and harness their strengths and bring success to the organisation. Since ancient days history has seen many personalities who have played the role of a leader and left a footprint of their style, as an example for the future generation. Let us discuss, the following types of leaders and how effective they are.
[1] Democratic leaders
A democratic leader gives the liberty to all the team members to voice their opinion before taking any decisions. This gives a satisfaction that all the members have an equal opportunity and participation in the system, though one is aware of the fact that the final decision lies in the hands of the authority. Democratic leadership style fosters innovation and creativity and is considered to be a commonly effective style as it enhances employee involvement and workplace satisfaction.
[2] Authoritative leader
Authoritative leaders are autocratic in nature and always carry their power and authority with them in all circumstances. They are never ready to involve the subordinates in any sort of discussion or decision-making process and are simply expected to follow the instructions given. This type of leadership is rarely effective and is exercised in organisations where there is command and control style, or the chain of command is clearly followed. Team collaboration is reduced and there is an increase employee turnover rate.
[3] Laissez-Faire leader
This style of leadership is in total opposition to an authoritative or autocratic leader. Here, the leader exhibits his authority to the minimum and gives liberty to the people to express their potential. A Laissez-Faire leader is successful, when he is working with a team of skilled and organised people but fails when the members are less motivated and less target oriented. For effective functioning, the right leadership style should be executed.
[4] Participative leader
Participative leadership is based on the democratic theory and intends to involve the team members in any project related discussions or decision-making process. This approach embraces the entire team and gives them a satisfaction of being included and engaged. The leader arrives at a decision after reviewing the inputs of all the members. This leadership encourages employee productivity and creativeness and helps in building a strong team. One disadvantage could be the transparency of information which could be a threat to the company’s security and the amount of time taken to arrive at a decision.
[5] Transformational leader
Transformational leaders are those people who inspire the people and motivates them to come out with their best skills and talents. This goes a long way in increasing the employees’ participation and productivity, thereby contributing to the success of the organisation. In this case, there are chances that some members could be overused leading to exploitation of human resource and over-expectation of the leader as well. These leaders tend to value people and their calibre irrespective of the position they hold.