Leadership has a profound influence on decisions and results in teams, organizations, or nations. In other words, leadership is the process of leading, motivating, and directing others towards the achievement of the team’s objectives. There are many types of leadership, such as autocratic, democratic, transformational, laissez-Faire Leadership, etc. It is the complexity of how people can be made to lead, control, and manage each other. Each of them has its own character and has been prepared for various situations, teams, and indeed, organizational goals.
What is Leadership?
Leadership is not merely a state but also a style of leadership. A good leader is described in the ability to build esteem and trust among others, promote cooperation, and commit them to their development. Real leaders conceptualize their leadership as a power to inspire, lead or persuade to accomplish a shared vision or an objective. In that sense, genuine leaders do not just “manage” but make a difference. In a proper sense, it is about decision-making and problem-solving along with the persuasion of others to act wisely.
It is not associated with a place in an organization’s job schedule or even by formal hierarchy. In any organization, the people, regardless of how low they may be in position within the organization or how high and powerful they may be, can be a leaders if and only if they are able to convince others to behave in a specific way. Leaders form the culture and the psychological space in teams, making it a climate of interdependence, and harmonious cohesion, in which people are tuned to a common goal.
Types of Leadership
Not all leadership styles are the same. Situations vary and require different types of leadership. Of course, elements like a leader’s predisposition, the ability of the team, and even the kind of work to be done have an impact on any leadership style. Let’s discuss some of the most acknowledged styles of leadership below.
Autocratic Leadership
In an autocratic leader, decisions and actions of the group are made unilaterally, that is, many times with little or no input from the group members, and there is minimal if any, teamwork. This type of leadership is highly centralized since all the decisions are made by the one and have not obtained the other’s input. Thus, the autocratic leader is a person who is characterized as an unambiguous command giver assumed to be absolute. This may sound unpractical or awkward, yet it is practical if there is the urgency to decide or when there is limited information going on as far as the team is concerned. As for example, where high accuracy or rigor in the process of construction or manufacture is required. It is not near to perfection even as a concept of leadership. For quite some time team members might start losing interest and get demotivated as it gets tough to seek even one minute of their valuable time to work out the idea or suggestion. Hence the leader has to be in the center of control and touch in a team.
Democratic Leadership
Participative, or democratic, leadership is described as a situation whereby the leader works very closely in collaboration with a team so as to enable its member’s contribution in the course of making any decision. The democratic executives tend to be unlike their autocratic counterparts, due to their fondness and affinity for participation and cooperation, rather than the members’ sense of belonging. While using this form of leadership style, decisions would have been taken before proper discussion by members of that team.
Democratic, or more, is also known to be associated with creativity and innovation, as members of the group seem to be high enough to come up with new ideas and thoughts. They are used most in brainstorming-dependent industries, such as marketing, advertising, or product design. Democratic leaders trust their teams and lead them. However, such an attitude may not prove to be applicable in a heavily pressurized situation where it is required that decisions are delivered in real time. Sometimes the group process extends the decision period.
Transformational Leadership,
In Transformational leadership, transformational leadership is based upon the motivation of others to some extraordinary work or inspiration. Often, transformational leaders have very clear visions about things, and they know how to express them in front of a team. They encourage their members to develop, to innovate, and to transgress their own imposed boundaries. The development of an emotional attachment to the group is also a powerful attribute of transformational leaders. These leaders in fact build trust and belonging which, in the long run, leads to the employees achieving their own best output. This kind of leadership is normally used in dynamic entrepreneurial fields e.g., in technology. However, transformative leadership also requires much work and energy on the part of the leader. At the same time, they all rely on intrinsic inspiration from leadership and its ability to build relationships, which might not suit all personalities.
Laissez- Faire leadership
A laissez-faire form of leadership exists in which the leader is only allowing the smallest intervention. In this pattern of the following, the lead takes the responsibility of providing all the necessary tools and freedom to the team members so that they can work autonomously and preferably avoid interaction with each other. Lack of feedback in perception is due to hand object pose stability in robotic grasping tasks, and it significantly impacts the grasping force performance of the arm, which will influence the delivery of viscous food products.
However, that style blooms only under a very skilled, independent, and competent individual. Such a laissez-faire management style can also be applied in developmental and research teams or startup companies where creativity and autonomy are highly endorsed (e.g. [N] Conversely, laissez-faire management may prove problematic as the team members are not disciplined nor adequately competent enough to discharge their duties successfully. In these circumstances, errors in execution or failure of key performance indicators can result from weakness in strong stewardship.
Servant Leadership
Servant leadership pertains to satisfying the subordinates’ needs as well as the needs of the leader. A servant leader will emphasize the development and well-being of the people within the team due to the empowerment of the former, and one shows care about the members within his team. Servant leadership is inherent in qualities such as empathetic listening, humility, etc. Servant leaders are, in reality, teachers to their group, as they maintain a close affiliation with their group in order to know what are the issues and intentions of the group.
However, servant leadership is inappropriate for making decisions that necessitate rapid response or tight control. The best application is in situations where collaboration and enculturation are not just salient concerns, but the focus of the process.
Theories of Leadership
Leadership models provide a model of leadership emergence, leadership behavior, and what permits effective leadership. The theory has emerged over time in response to different conceptions of leadership.
Trait Theory of Leadership
For the trait theory, specific traits are specified at the biological level and make individuals likely to be leaders as being in a position to lead. It might be self-confidence, charisma, intelligence, and decisiveness. While personality is clearly the focus of it, it is claimed that the theory is missing elements to the situational variables and, as a result, the acquired behavior.
Behavioral Theory of Leadership
This theory postulates that leadership is a transacting and therefore more dependent on what leaders actually have rather than who they are. It argues that the principles of good leadership are what a leader does rather than who the leader is. This theory states that there is a possibility of training, or in other words, practice for the development of leadership. The approach chooses the leaders into task- or people-centered within this framework.
Contingency Theory of Leadership
Successful leaders have to change their style to satisfy the demands of the situation. Transformation leadership theory refers to the capacity of the leader to galvanize and shift other people. Specialization is more in terms of vision, trust, and affective attachment in achieving good results.
Difference Between Leadership and Management
Difference Between Leadership and ManagementLeadership and management are two distinct words. In that, leadership inspires others to lead in his pattern and management involves the other person’s operations for planning, organizing, and the execution of the job. They inspire to act on a shared vision but are controlled by management with a practical implementation of the same. Not only that, but more importantly, its effectiveness is greatly bound up with companies’ success and when good leadership is present, usually it is supported by the management capability.
| Basis | Leadership | Management |
| Focus | People and relationships | Processes and tasks |
| Objective | Creating a vision and inspiring others | Achieving efficiency and productivity |
| Approach | Collaborative and innovative | Structured and methodical |
| Skills | Communication, empathy, vision | Planning, organizing, problem-solving |
Types of Leadership FAQs
What is leadership?
Leadership is the ability to perform, to exert influence, and lead others toward collective attainment. These are decision-making and problem-solving and building a trustful atmosphere among a team of individuals.
What are the types of leadership?
There are different kinds of leadership: autocratic, democratic, transformational, laissez-faire, and servant leadership. Each of them applies to specific situations and issues.
How is leadership different from management?
Leadership basically inspires and motivates people to take charge. Management, however, is the art and science of organizing, planning, and getting things done in an efficient way. In a nutshell, they play a pivotal role in organizational attainment.
Is leadership learned?
Yes. Hence leadership can be both learned and grown by practice and experience. Not surprisingly, whereas certain features of personality may be innate, decision-making skills and interpersonal skills are acquired.
What do you understand by theories of leadership?
Theories of Leadership give an understanding of how and why a productive leader operates; they establish avenues to gaining knowledge of the leadership ability of a leader and therefore how one learns to develop in order to become a leader too.
