Leadership style is the means by which someone gives direction, implements plans, and motivates people.
Whether you are in upper management or a low-level employee, leadership style will affect you and the efficiency of operations. It is likely that you or one of your employees in an upper management position, uses one or two leadership styles day-to-day. However, great leaders adapt to using a variety of leadership styles and know when to apply them in different situations. At the Nevada Association of Employers, supervisor training on leadership styles can identify your strong suits while working to improve your knowledge of the other leadership styles out there.
Authoritarian: The authoritarian style places all control in the hands of the boss. It can include the belief that employees need constant guidance, checkups, and scheduling to get things done in the work place. Although this is a good leadership style for when jobs require clear direction and precise execution, bosses can lose vital input from valued employees if left unchecked.
Participative: This style facilitates teamwork among bosses and employees. Common characteristics of participative leadership are the involvement of employees in decisions, lively group discussions, and checking in with employees to see if they need help. This is good practice for organizations with autonomous employees, but can increase the time needed to complete imperative tasks.
Laissez-faire: The laissez-faire method holds true to its French meaning of letting people do as they please. It is likely you practice this if you believe your employees are competent and capable of completing their tasks without assistance. While this can be beneficial in some instances, all that freedom can lead to unproductive habits.
Transactional: Like its name suggests, this style of leadership places heavy weight on the monetary implications of a task. Maybe you reward your employees with bonuses, let them know about monetary incentives, or take disciplinary action for costly mistakes. These can be good practices to clarify goals and motivate, but relying too much on money as a reward could lead to ethical dilemmas among employees and feelings of manipulation.
Transformational: This style highlights the fact that work can be used as a growth opportunity for individuals. Bosses may help employees see the big picture, work with them on career development plans, and let them know there is more to life than just work. This can better engage employee attention towards an organization, but can be difficult to incorporate into daily tasks.
What style of leader are you? If you would like to further discuss the traits within each of these categories that can mold you into a great boss, reserve a spot in our Supervisory Skills workshop. Among other things, this workshop covers team building, communication, and conflict resolution. These topics aim to heighten your company’s potential and maintain valued employees in this period of potential growth for Reno businesses.
