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Art of Leading

Overview

People are unique, and so are situations, thus creating the need to be fluid in their leadership approach. There are many styles of leadership; however, there is no one style that can be perfect in all situations. One needs to be extremely flexible when leading different types of people under different kinds of circumstances. However, there are some styles that are more effective than others.

Great leaders constantly keep evolving into better leaders of tomorrow, for they understand the impact they have on the teams and the organizations’ success. The way a leader directs his/her people and implements plans can either motivate or demotivate them. It comprises the entire pattern of the stated and the unstated actions made by the leader. The key to learning the Art of Leading is to keep both the organization’s and its employees’ benefit in mind, and constantly acts to ensure it remains the same.

There are nine primary Art of Leading styles which, when used at the right time, can have very constructive results. At the same time, there are some styles which are more effective, and some which we should avoid.

Art of Leading Styles

Autocratic
Bureaucratic
Charismatic
Democratic
Laissez-Faire
People-Oriented
Task-Oriented
Transaction Oriented
Transformational

Autocratic

The autocratic leader has tremendous power over their people and tends to dictate all the terms of engagement. Be it the methods, or processes, or the approach; it all is decided by the leader. Such leaders most often don’t take the inputs of their people for any action.

Pros
The autocratic leader is extremely efficient in making decisions and actioning on them very quickly.

Cons
The style fails to create a sense of ownership and belonging in its people, due to which people are neither interested in the work or its results. Also, the one-way download of information without feedback causes miscommunication and misunderstanding, leading to undesired results.

Bureaucratic

The bureaucratic leader is traditional in his/her way and strictly adhere to the rules. They expect their people to also adhere to the rules religiously and prefer order to be maintained. They appreciate and encourage stability and conformity amongst their people. The bureaucratic leader expects its people to follow all their orders, as their position entitles them to do so.

Pros
The bureaucratic leader follows a predefined set of standards of governing and managing his/her people. Considering that there are standards for everything, routine tasks need to be performed repeatedly, ensuring efficiency and quality standards being constantly maintained.

Cons
The style fails in organizations where work is expected to be flexible, creative, and innovative. This happens as the leader doesn’t allow its people to step outside the already existent rules, thus preventing new ideas from happening. To achieve new results, one needs to try new tactics.

Charismatic

The charismatic leader inspires enthusiasm and highly motivate his/her people with their actions. Through their actions, they encourage their people to learn, progress, and constantly evolve. The charismatic leader has a very strong sense of self-belief and rarely doubts his/her approach or decisions. They have a tremendous ability to captivate people and make them feel required for the cause.

Pros
The charismatic leader is an effective change agent and motivates the employees with his/her confidence and energy. Such leaders create a synergetic environment, and people thrive on each other’s successes.

Cons
The style fails when the leader starts to believe in themselves more than their people and creates too much dependence on one individual for the entire organization’s success.

Democratic

The democratic leader instills confidence in his/her team and always include them in any decision-making process. They encourage creativity and ensure great ownership and accountability.

Pros
The democratic leader ensures that their people are highly satisfied, which in turn results in great productivity as people take the complete onus of their tasks. In such an environment, people grow organically and feel in control of their future. The people invest themselves in constant learning and are motivated by more than just monetary rewards.

Cons
The style fails when all the people aren’t of the same mind-set. For this style to succeed, all the employees of the organization need to be genuinely interested in the organization’s success and should feel their self-goals aligned with the organizational goals. The democratic leadership style can lead to alienation of certain groups when their ideas aren’t considered.

Laissez-Faire

The laissez-faire leader gives the people complete liberty to work as they please. Such leaders do not interfere in their people’s functionality, be it the processes or deadlines. The laissez-faire leader offers support and resources; only when asked for, otherwise, they do not get involved.

Pros
The laissez-faire leader provides great autonomy to his/her people, creating a greater sense of ownership and thus leading to higher productivity.

Cons
The style fails when the people are not self-motivated or don’t have the skills/knowledge to perform the task independently. It also becomes a challenge when people don’t manage their time well.

People-Oriented

The people-oriented leader is always focused on the well-being of his/her people and is constantly supporting and developing them. Such leaders are very approachable and are good listeners. They treat everyone equally and are always available to help their people.

Pros
The people-oriented leader creates a very conducive environment that everyone wants to be a part of. The people are highly satisfied; thus, they are proactive and willing to take ownership. The people take risks too as they have faith that their leader will always support them.

Cons
The style fails when the leader starts to only focus on the people and losses track of the tasks at hand. The organizational needs suffer when the leader starts to address all relevant and irrelevant demands of the people.

Task-Oriented

The task-oriented leader tends to become autocratic and is only concerned about getting the task done. They micro-manage the people by defining the tasks, strategies, and every nuance of the work by themselves. They constantly want control of every aspect of the work and tend to get upset when things happen without their knowledge. Such leaders though actively get involved in the tasks and tries to lead by example.

Pros
The task-oriented leader is very deadline oriented and ensures that standards of quality are never compromised. They are perfect for leading people who are not great time management.

Cons
The style fails as the leaders don’t pay attention to their people, and continue to expect them to perform, without much appreciation. As the people and their needs are neglected, they start to become very demotivated. This usually impacts their productivity, and the standards of quality start to fall.

Transactional

The transactional leader begins functioning with the predefined guideline that the people are to follow all the directives given by the leader. Such leaders believe that the people must comply with all the rules and continue to execute their orders, and for this, the people are being paid. The leaders believe that the people should be penalized for any mistake that they make.

Pros
The transactional leader has very clear objectives and knows what he/she wants and how to get to it. They ensure that the people know exactly what to do and how to do it and to understand their role and responsibilities. They purely define people by their performance and award ambitious and self-motivated individuals.

Cons
The style fails as the people can start to feel smothered and be highly demotivated due to the absence of ownership. Working under such leaders becomes very mechanical.

Transformational

The transformational leader inspires people to be their best and follows the same approach themselves. They lead from the front and instill a lot of faith in their people. Such leaders create an environment of productivity and motivate others to keep improving. They are prudent risk-takers and strongly believe in their methods and their people. Constant learning and progression are their key attributes. They are visionaries.

Pros
The transformational leader ensures the highest level of productivity and people engagement.

Cons
The style requires a second level of leaders to address the detailed work requirements.

Attributes of a Great Leader

Listening: A good leader always listens to his/her people.

Inclusiveness: A good leader always included everyone in the decision-making process.

Delegation: A good leader knows exactly when to do tasks themselves and when to delegate them. They know that controlling everything won’t be possible, and the delegation will create trust amongst people.

Sincerity: A good leader doesn’t pretend; they ask and do things with absolute sincerity.

Accountability: A good leader does not pass the blame and takes complete responsibility of actions executed.

Optimism: A good leader knows that under any circumstance, they need to remain positive and optimistic.

Realism: A good leader, while being positive, also understands the importance of being objective about the challenges.

Honesty: A good leader is meticulously honest in under all circumstances.

Trustworthiness: A good leader understands the importance of trust in harmonious and progressive functionality.

Morality: A good leader is extremely morale, and stands by their beliefs, even when others don’t.

Self-Effacement: A good leader always directs praise towards his/her people. They understand that when the team performs well, it is their success too.

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