More handpicked essays just for you.
Compare different theories of leadership
Advantages of theory Y type of leadership
Compare different theories of leadership
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The role of the leader in the Everest simulation was to motivate, instruct, resolve conflict and achieve group goals. I, as the team leader, made the point of differentiating myself from a manager, to someone who was extraverted, energetic and driven, within and outside of the simulation. This involved organising location times and communication between members, drawing up the team contract and building relationships between team members beyond the classroom. During the simulation however I chose to adopt a less prominent role to minimise conflict and maximise satisfaction.
During the initial simulation I implemented a laissez- faire approach to leadership. I adopted this form of behaviour as I was no more skilled or experienced in the Everest simulation than any other team member. Logically, I believed that as all team members had equal ability, all team members should therefore have equal input. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming presence of freedom, conflict of interests and an abundance of communication barriers due to the poor choice in leadership styles, an environment of chaos and anarchy was created. In effect, the group failed the task. On a positive note, this form of leadership saw the group bond together and the level of satisfaction was high. Furthermore, the level of pressure for team members to perform under this form of management was minimal; hence the lack of success achieved was minute.
During the second attempt, I chose to adopt a democratic style of leadership. Once again, I was no more informed than any other member of the group concerning the correct performance of the task; hence I chose not to make autocratic decisions. I did however note the need for structure in any given task. Therefore, the...
... middle of paper ...
...rmine a successful outcome. Hence, a laissez- faire approach to leadership was successful in small groups. Overall, the democratic approach, like the laissez- faire approach, was enjoyable and good for conflict resolution, however using this approach we also achieved a solid team score.
In hindsight, I believe a more autocratic approach to leadership should have been employed in order to improve the team score and to minimise time wastage. An article by Judge, Piccolo and Ilies (2004) suggested an initiating structure of leadership is highly correlated to objective outcomes including “leader job performance and group – organisation performance” (Judge, Piccolo and Ilies 2004 pp36). If I, as leader, were more informed concerning the task at hand, this form of leadership would have been more efficient, in order to avoid the interminable decision making process.
Ramsey, R. (2006). Lead follow or get out of the way: How to be a more effective leader in
On leadership is a book which deserve to be read by us. Although this book use a precise formation to help us to examine a widely comprehensive aspects of the leadership, there are some drawbacks. Gardner cited different examples to talk about leadership, but just in a particular area, that is political area. So,
A leader can choose from a variety of approaches, each effective in different circumstances. This paper will present three leadership theories believed to be most effective for CrysTel's change initiative. Each style will be compared to those chosen and some not chosen. The recommendation is to use a combination of all three theories to address the environment at CrysTel. Strengths and weaknesses of each style will be presented as will challenges with the recommended approach, and recommendations for further success.
The only challenge I may have is the slow decision making process when trying to include members in the decision making process. However, the advantage is that I would work with team members to make decisions which in return should increase their productivity because they are more involved in the process. The democratic leadership is also my preferred style because I’m more of a team player versus an autocratic leader. I would not demand my followers to do any task, I prefer to motivate my followers to success.
Leadership is a quality many of us strive to achieve. To be an excellent leader has been an elusive quest. However, the pursuit of excellent leadership is movement in the right direction. In this paper we will examine the major types of leadership styles. The three types are, Participative or Democratic, Laissez-Faire, and Authoritative.
...to be a great leader a leader must have a democratic leadership style. Although, there have been cases where autocratic leaders and laissez fair leaders have been successful, this does not mean that these leaders were the best leaders. It just means that they were able to achieve power through the cost of their subordinates. In this cases most of the time the subordinates are not happy with their leader. Even after their success there is no doubt that a democratic leader is the best leaders because this styles leads to a “higher productivity, more contribution from group members as well as higher group morale(Cherry).”A democratic leader, with the five golden rules, is able to guide and inspire others through his example, to change for their benefit. A democratic leader seeks the best for his subordinates and that is the reason why his subordinates will follow him.
Autocratic leadership theory is a part of the behavioural approach. In this leadership theory, leader makes all decisions and uses power to command and control the followers to achieve goal. According to Lewin(1939), “autocratic leaders are associated with high-performing groups, but that close supervision is necessary and feeling of hostility are often present” (p.173). It is incredibly efficient and tasks are completed quickly. Autocratic leadership can be beneficial when decisions need to be making quickly. For example, in emergency situation surgeon uses this theory because the patient’s situation is between life and death and there is no time to discuss with other members. Bass (2008) mentioned in the Leadership styles and theories article, “Autocratic leaders can be effective because they create good structure, and determine what needs to be done. They provide rewards for compliance, but punish disobedience” (Giltinane, 2013, p. 35-37).
Given the recent Everest tragedy over the weekend with the biggest loss of lives to date, this case study rings particularly poignant. It’s hard to think of a higher-staked situation than making a summit bid for Mount Everest. The responsibility in such a trek weighs heavy on the leader, but does not need to fall on his shoulders alone. Had Fischer been more willing to share credit, fostering a team-oriented environment, he might still be around today to bask in the glory of his ambitious undertaking.
A prominent difference between Rob Hall and Scott Fischer is their leadership styles. In particular, Hall’s leadership style compares to be considerably more stringent the Fischer’s. As Krakauer emphasizes, “. . . he poured over reams of computer print outs detailing logistical minutiae: menus, spare parts, tools, medicine . . . yak availability” (95). This evidence shows how planned out and particular Rob’s group is portrayed. Shown again here, “Hall ran the tightest, safest operation on the mountain. Bar none.” (353). His company is referred to as the safest on the mountain which cannot be obtained without many regulations that are strictly enforced. In much opposition, Fischer has dynamic and easy going leadership style. A basic representation of this is, “Fischer believed in giving his clients free reign to go up and down the mountain independently during the acclimatization period.” (141). I believe Fischer has good intentions, but when dealing with climbers of callow experience, more control should be necessary. A situation in which his lax leadership causes problems is how he never even vaguely establishes a turnaround time. It’s a surmise idea but if everyone on the mountain has been given a correct turnaround time, many lives may have been saved. Granted, Rob Hall never establishes a concrete turnaround time either. Rob’s uptight and Scott’s relaxed leadership styles is a noted difference between the two men.
A person’s title within the organization does not make them a leader. The driving factor which determines if someone is in a leader position is their behavior. This person who is a leader will guide those in the organization by influencing, guiding, giving direction, and opinions (Marquis & Huston, 2012). The culture as well as the climate of an organization begins with the leadership (Azaare & Gross, 2011). Each individual person has their own leadership style. Knowing one’s own leadership style will help them understand themselves and be able to grow as a leader. The purpose of this paper is to look at my own leadership style, including my strengths for leading others. A description of a potential challenge that I foresee due to my leadership style and a plan for my personal leadership development will be discussed.
However, Fielder's theory provides useful implications for understanding the complex leadership process. First, Fielder's theory demonstrates that it is unrealistic for an organization to require a leader to be effective in every situation. Fielder argues that leaders should be placed in situations which match their style in order to optimize success. He proposed that organizations “build an organizational environment in which the leader can perform well” (Koontz, 2009). Fielder stressed that placing leaders in “mismatched” situations places a tremendous amount of pressure on a leaders which ultimately results in decreased organizational performance (Northouse, 2013). Second, Fielder's theory provides useful information to organization to help them in determining which leaders are better suited for certain situations. Using the Fielder's theory information, an organization can determine the likelihood of success before placing a leader in an a certain
The project had two managers of which I directly reported to one of them. The leadership styles exhibited by my manager were authoritative and affiliative. As a leader of a huge project, he was clear with the goals combined with the path to achieve them. One of his distinctive ability was to convert his thinking to workable actions which resulted in the successful completion of tasks before the deadlines. Each and every team member knew what they had to do and when they had to do. This was the most critical element in a project. There was a mutual co-ordination among the team members that culminated to results. “We were always trying to figure out why our sales were down last week. We had the whole company looking backward instead of figuring out what we had to do tomorrow” – Tom (Daniel Goleman, Leadership that gets Results, 2000). At times of failures, he provided the team members with a feedback which was neutral. These feedbacks directly had an impact on our working progress. He was one such person who was ready to forgo the ideal situation that
According to Manion (2014), a leader is a person who is able to positively influence a group of people and develop their ability to accomplish a goal (Manion, 2014). According to this definition of leadership, it suggests that every individual has a likely chance to become a leader. Every time one voices an opinion or an idea, they influence others in some form of way, therefore, they function as a role of a leader. Lewin, Lippitt and White (1939) suggest that there are three types of leaders: authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939). Authoritarian, or autocratic leadership, is a leader that dictates all the decisions within a group of individuals (Lewin et al., 1939). On the other hand, the Laissez-faire leader allows the group members complete freedom without the leader’s participation in any of the decisions (Lewin et al., 1939). The type of leader I aspire to be is the
Based on my characteristics, values and beliefs, my leadership style would be close to the democratic leadership. According to Akapala (1990), this form of leadership is said to be the earliest among
Leadership and the study of it has roots in the beginning of civilization, Egyptian rulers, Greek heroes, and biblical patriarchs all have one thing in common-leadership (THE HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP FOCUS,2005). There are numerous definitions and theories of leadership, however there are enough similarities in the definitions to conclude that leadership is the effort of influence and the power to induce compliance (Wren,1995).The organizational focus of the leader has evolved over this same period, early organizations with authoritarian leaders who believed employees were intrinsically lazy transitioned into way to make work environments more conducive to increased productivity rates (THE HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP FOCUS,2005).