Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Types of Leadership
Types of Leadership
experienced leaders could be forgiven for being somewhat overwhelmed by the choices available.
However, although they will often have different labels for the leadership style or styles that an individual
may prefer the most in their output reports, most questionnaires will indicate a style based on several of
the ones described below. Please note that some of these styles are somewhat overlapping. For
example, the first five are the so-called “push” leadership styles, the subsequent six styles are the so-
called “pull” leadership styles and the last three are based on a particular expert’s approach.
The Autocratic In this style, the leader makes most if not all decisions
Leader and closely manages subordinates to complete a task
or project. An autocratic leader is directive and may
not be open to questioning. The assumption is that
individuals need strong guidance to accomplish any
task properly or well without being told exactly what to
do, how to do it and when it should be done. The
autocratic leadership style is typically most effective
when tasks are clear, deadlines are tight and there
are a great many people involved in the overall work.
Apart from overlapping at times, every one of these leadership styles are rarely “all encompassing” in one
individual leader (and perhaps nor should they be). In other words, each style is likely to create problems
if used exclusively and it is therefore better to deploy several contrasting styles according the skills and
maturity of the people being led, the task at hand, the overall type and scope of work or project
circumstances encountered at any one time.