Tag Archives: Transactional leadership

Leadership

Types of Leadership Styles in Business

Traditionally the following leadership styles have been the most popular:

Dictator Leadership – In this leadership style the leader has absolute power and authority over their subordinates. The subordinates receive orders from the leader and they carry them out as instructed. The leader does not allow subordinates to participate in decision making. This is the leadership style that the leader uses fear and threats in order to get the job done. Similar with the autocratic style of leadership the leader also makes all the decisions.

Autocratic Leadership – It has been shown that this leadership style are likely to become dictators. Also under the autocratic leadership style all decision making powers are centralized to the leader. They do not entertain any thought from subordinates and do not listen to any suggestions or initiatives from them. Autocratic leadership provides strong motivation to the leader and this is shown to be true as it has been successful in the past. It is effective as it permits quick decision-making as only the one person needs to decide for the whole group and this individual keeps decisions to themselves until they feel the rest of the group need to know what they are. Autocratic leaders do not trust anyone.

Democratic Leadership – Participative or democratic leadership style favours group decision making as shown that the leader only gives instruction after consulting the group. The leader can earn the cooperation of the group by doing this and therefore can motivate followers effectively and positively. The decisions arise from consultation and participation within the group members first so the decision making is not unilateral such as the autocratic style. When democratic leaders are present in the workplace the leadership style produces a work environment that employees can feel satisfied with the environment of the workplace. Subordinates feel that their opinion counts because of the shared communication and because of that feeling they can become more committed to achieving the goals and objectives of the organization.

Laissez Faire or Free Rein Leadership – A free rein leader allows maximum freedom to subordinates, by leaving the group entirely to itself and does not lead them every step of the way but rather motivates them by trusting the individuals to do things themselves. Subordinates are given a freehand in deciding their own policies and methods. Free rein leadership is considered better than the authoritarian style but not as effective as the democratic style.

Research on the behavior of individuals with leadership is moving in many new directions and new lines of inquiry are opening up in an attempt to construct the leadership model. The following contemporary perspectives are only a few of the numerous inquiries into the new leadership models.

Transactional leadership is the traditional management function of leading. Transactional leaders in essence do what managers do: they clarify the role of employees, initiate structures and reward or punish individuals for the team’s performance. One individual is given the opportunity to lead the group and that group agrees to follow his lead in order to accomplish a predetermined goal in exchange for something worthwhile. The leader is given the power to evaluate, correct and train the employees when productivity is not at the appropriate level and they are able to reward effectiveness and efficiency when the outcome expected is reached.

Over the recent years a particular interest in transformational and charismatic leadership has been taken by I/O psychologists because in the past individuals have ignored the importance of the leader as a communicator. The following two leadership styles inspire followers through their words, ideas and behaviors.

The expression “transformational” is used because change and adaptation to change are the forerunners of a successful modern organization. The transformational leader is a person whom has a definite vision of the organization in the future and of what they want to achieve and transform followers’ beliefs, values and needs. The transformational leader seeks to accomplish their goals by making workers or followers feelings more aware of the importance of want they are trying to do, convincing them to put the organizations or teams needs ahead of their own self-accomplishments and to appeal to their achievement and mastery needs.

Charismatic leadership has a dependency more on the actual force of the leader’s personality as to the appeal of the leader’s vision. Charismatic leaders have the ability to put all their trust in others, are able to take personal risks and are sensitive to other people’s needs. They also have the ability to make individuals overcome lack of personal belief and do more than what is normally expected of them; they motivate subordinates to transcend their expected performance.

This article about leadership styles [http://www.humanresourcessouthafrica.co.za] was written by Christopher Kimberley. The article is for my human resources South Africa [http://www.humanresourcessouthafrica.co.za] website which specializes in issues relating to human resources in South Africa.

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Leadership

The Difference Between Transactional and Transformational Leadership

Leadership is very important for a person as well as for an organization. Without leadership, the organization (and the individual, too) is like a boat without a rudder. It will be aimless and will just follow the flow of the powerful forces in the organization.

But leadership takes on different forms in an organization. One way of looking at it is by classifying between transaction and transformational leadership. Another is by looking at formal and informal leadership. Formal position and authority matter less than influence. Influence is raw power within an organization. A person who has influence does not need formal authority to tip the organizational balance towards himself.

Leaders who do have formal authority and leadership position may simply use transactional leadership for their subordinates and followers. This kind of leadership works in certain situations. Especially if the leader is but in transition and does not have to invest much time in the development of the people under him. Transactional leadership is not long term. It is short term. The key word here is transactions! The leader does not expect any “return business” with the people he is dealing with.

Transformational leadership, on the other hand, is a very different kind of leadership. It takes into account the motivation and the situation of the followers and subordinates. It primes up people for repeat business and continuous improvements!

As a leader, would you rather use short term transactional leadership or the long-term-impact transformational leadership? While I would advocate transformational leadership off-hand, the best leadership style depends on your circumstances and the organizational goals and objectives.

The important question to ask then is, how can you study the organizational context so as to understand the kind of leadership that is suited to it? Ask your people. Is there good morale in the organization? Or is it full of complaints and murmuring? Are the people happy to be part of the organization? Or are they simply waiting for one paycheck after another?

You also need to look at the performance of the organization. You can conduct an evaluation or even an internal audit of your organization. This way, you can assess the strengths and the weaknesses of the organization. Based on that, you can make important decisions as to the style of leadership suited for the organization.

There is no right or wrong styles of leadership to be used in an organization. What matters is how you use one style of leadership to accomplish your goals as a leader.

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Leadership

Balancing Your Leadership Style

This summer we began work with a Chief Service Officer (CSO) in a customer service organization with call centers around the globe. His prime objective for the coming year was the recruitment and retention of employees with a ‘customer-focused’ mindset. He knew the value of a diverse workforce would flow over into satisfying worldwide customer demands, impact the standardization of the delivery process of a diverse vendor base; and enhance or break their global image as well. He expressed that several of the state-side centers had begun to experience employee conflict attributed to a mix of the generational workforce management styles. He stated that the company had its own distinctive personality; but, with the current issues he was certain leadership styles were unbalanced.

We were anxious to help him discover if the belief structure of the mix of generational core values was influencing leadership styles. Were they too autocratic, too transactional focused, overly bureaucratic, or overly participatory, never able to reach a final decision? Do the leaders at each center need a mix of leadership styles, a more evenhanded methodology? We are still working with this organization, but let’s explore a few of the common leadership styles practiced today. There are a few more leadership styles than we list here, but considered these were more relevant to our CSO’s situation.

o Autocratic leadership- leader exerts high levels of power over the employees or teams. Team members are given few opportunities for making alternate proposals, even if these would best serve the organization’s processes.
o Bureaucratic leadership- leader works “by the book”, ensuring that their staff follow procedures exactly, very appropriate for work involving serious safety risks such as, working with machinery, with toxic spills or at extremely contagious health conditions.
o Democratic leadership-participative leadership- this leader makes the final decision. They invite others to contribute to the decision-making process, increasing job satisfaction by involvement.
o Situational leadership-a leader that can instinctively switch between styles according to the staff and the corresponding work they are dealing with at the current moment, ensuring the right levels of product quality, environmental security; and employee motivation.
o Transactional leadership- leader is in the agreement with the team members to obey their leader totally when they take a job on. The “transaction” is that the organization pays the team members in exchange for their expertise and conformity.
o Transformational leadership- leader is a sincere principal who inspires the team members with a shared vision of the future. Transformational leaders are highly noticeable and are seen truly listening & engaging their staff.

As technology advances in all industries, this challenges the leadership style of command-and-control. The leadership methodology of the past century is inefficient in the motivation & retention of people who are talented in the hi-tech fields, some even holding patents in the creation of the newer wireless tools.

The leadership of this century is a combination of earnest employee relationships and internal meaningful achievement. Great leaders have learned how to assimilate and execute many types of leadership. A balanced leadership style includes the creation of a positive work culture, constructing opportunities where the team’s expertise is visible internally & externally, maintaining consistent communication between team members and other departments, sustains a certainty in the company’s direction; and, acknowledges the achievements of individual members.

Remember that organizational ‘systems’ progress toward change cautiously. As you may want to integrate a leadership change, describe your perspective in positive terms using the benefits to the company’s economic result and resolve the human apprehension of a change in your style. Last, define how your changes can be more strategically activated with their collaboration while developing new enthusiasm, corporate confidence, and vitality.

If you think your leadership style could use some integration of other styles, ask yourself:

o What style of leadership best describes you? Are you happy with that style or would you benefit from an integration of a few styles?
o What routine practices are fading out in your industry and how will that change your leadership style for the future of your business?
o What type of leadership relationships will your clients value in coming years?
o What technological changes will have a positive or negative effect on your business? What new concerns and problems will be generated by these technologies and may propel you to a new style of leadership?
o What would the people you’ve worked with do differently because they worked with you in the new leadership style?
o What elements of leadership will you use to purge out old language, delete old behavior patterns, or discard anything not useful to meet your collective goals?
o How will you measure the success of discarding what is not needed for the future goals?
o Do you, as a leader, understand the specific fears of your employees? What are they concerned about? How strongly do they feel about it? Do they perceive your stated strategies as beneficial or not?
o As the leader you aspire to be, how do you inspire and display enthusiasm for management of complex issues regarding performance without being autocratic?
o How will you nurture and encourage initiative and boldness, both verbally and visually?
o How will you sustain the balance of work and personal life for yourself as a great leader?

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” Stephen Covey

Bradley Morgan, MS,PCC

Bradley Morgan is a corporate and ontological coach who served as a hi-tech executive for over 17 years, in companies such as, IBM, Bay Networks, Premysis, and Brocade Communications. Bradley’s credentials include a BS from Georgia Tech, a MS from UCLA, a certificate in gerontology from the University of Maryland; and a Professional Coaching Certification (PCC) through the Newfield Network program. In the telecommunications industry, she developed both domestic and international systems engineering teams for technical expertise and executive level leadership. Bradley is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), American Management Associates (AMA), the American Society on Aging (ASA); and the American Parkinson’s Disease Association (APDA). Please visit the Web site, [http://www.walksbesidecoaching.com].

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