As someone in a leadership position, you’ve probably asked yourself what kind of leadership style would best suit you and your team. But contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as one “ideal” leadership style. Instead, what you can do is combine the best characteristics of common leadership styles, which you can learn more about below.
-
Laissez-Faire
Laissez-faire leaders take a hands-off approach to managing employees, preferring to give them space to figure out how to go about doing their tasks. While this may seem like an ineffective leadership style, it actually works for highly skilled and experienced employees, who don’t need as much handholding as newbie workers. But in the wrong setting, laissez-faire leadership can negatively impact productivity because it leaves employees in the dark with little to no idea if they’re doing the right thing or not.
-
Autocratic
Autocratic leadership puts the decision-making process in the hands of one person — the manager. Managers have complete control on how the team functions, which may seem like a bad thing, but actually works wonders for employees who require close supervision. An autocratic style of leadership can be applied when training new workers to handle critical functions, such as those common in the healthcare and manufacturing industries among many others.
-
Democratic or Participative
Democratic leadership is the exact opposite of autocratic leadership, in that it diffuses decision-making processes to ensure that everyone in the team gets to have their say on what they think should be done. The final decision, however, still rests in the hands of the manager. The downside to this approach is it can delay the time it takes to come up with a final decision, which can be dangerous when tight deadlines are concerned.
-
Transformational
Transformational leadership is a great leadership style if your work environment depends highly on constant communication. Instead of talking at employees, leaders talk to them, finding ways to motivate workers and enhance productivity through effective communication and high visibility. Management takes an active role in helping employees meet the organization’s goals, striking a balance between control and delegation of tasks.
-
Coaching
This leadership style isn’t so much about managing employees but rather acting as their mentors. Coaches take a hands-on approach to management by spending one-on-one time with employees to improve their performance and meet team goals. It’s a great way to help staff members grow, although there’s always the risk of turning off people who have an aversion to being micromanaged.
If you need help evaluating your leadership skills, or want to learn how to improve your workforce management abilities, talk to the staffing services experts of Star Staffing!