Ron Collins
Management Services Committee Member
Tennessee Associated Electric
Knoxville, TN
Leaders have their unique management styles, but not all employees will respond the same way to the same style. Understanding different styles helps us as leaders manage our workforce better. What’s your style? You are likely to already using several different styles.
Transactional (Managerial) Leaders
This style requires an employee who believes he is contractually obligated to follow the instructions laid out by the leader to perform a task. If these tasks do not meet the leader’s standards, then some consequence or discipline is applied. On the other hand, when actions surpass expectations, the employee receives a financial reward or some other benefit.
Transactional leaders set work areas close to one another to facilitate easy monitoring, ensuring employees adhere to rules and standards. The advantages to the Transactional leader approach include clearly defined roles of the team members and the manager. This helps everyone appropriately fill their role well and limit confusion. Teams that work in a Transactional setup are judged on performance and are rewarded (or not) entirely based on performance. This type of leadership style works well for those who are working only for the reward. Employees who do not respond well to this style may feel left out and have nothing more they can offer to their job. Transactional leadership often has a higher turnover in employment.
Autocratic/Authoritarian Leaders
In this model, leaders have the ultimate power over the team and unilaterally make all decisions. This is the “my way or the highway” type of leader. Team members may not make suggestions, even if the idea would benefit the group. An Autocratic leader must be a strong leader who is not afraid to make quick, difficult decisions. This leadership is common in the military, where commanders must make decisions without delay. Without this type of leadership, military maneuvers would never be performed. However, companies with an Autocratic leader have high employee turnover, absenteeism and low job satisfaction.
Bureaucratic Leaders
Bureaucratic leaders are “by the book” and follow the rules. They expect teams to perform accordingly. Employees harbor less resentment toward this type of leader because everyone follows the same set of standards. The Bureaucratic leader is more likely to give praise and reward to those who perform and follow the rules. They also quickly discipline those who do not.
The Bureaucratic leadership style benefits the team members in that rules and procedures are clearly defined. When in doubt, employees can easily look them up in the company manual. The employees also have a clear understanding of what they need to do to advance in the company. Safety protocols are followed well in a Bureaucratic environment because of the emphasis on following the rules and staying safe. One drawback to this style is the employee may feel more replaceable and less appreciated.
Charismatic Leaders
Charismatic leaders inspire their teams with their positive energy, excitement and motivation. They see what needs to happen and turn that into a vision for the company. They use that vision to inspire team members and make them feel that everyone contributes to the organization’s success. Charismatic leaders rely heavily on their abilities rather than those of the team. The downside is the leader becomes the face of the company, and the company struggles in his or her absence. This style works best when combined with other styles.
Democratic Leaders
Democratic leaders involve their teams in the company’s decision-making process. Allowing the creativity and ideas of the team members makes employees feel they are valued. This results in a high level of worker satisfaction. People like working for a leader who appreciates and values their input. The Democratic decision-making process is slow and may not be practical in the daily operations of a company. The leader must have the final say.
Laissez-Faire Leaders
Laissez-Faire, by definition, means refusal to interfere. The Laissez-Faire leader is more like a mentor and stimulator, and the employees manage their respective areas of business. This type of management works only if the team members involved are self-motivated and task-oriented. In the perfect setting, this allows the organization to thrive. This style will not work well in a task or production environment.
Task-Oriented Leaders
Task-oriented leaders focus efforts on getting the job done. They love structure, spend a lot of time planning and define roles and expectations to maximize efficiency. Teams with task-oriented leaders meet deadlines by having a clearly defined structure. The team member can sometimes feel overlooked and unappreciated because the leader is so focused on the task.
There are many more leadership styles than the ones I have listed. Understanding your style and the style to which your team responds best is necessary to have a successful business. You will most likely find, as I did, that you use a combination of styles with each tailored to the individual team member or a specific situation.
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