Management & Leadership Styles

Laissez- Faire

Of the many different leadership styles, Laissez Faire or Free-rein Leadership is one of the more
remarkable. Translated from French, it literally means ‘to let it do’. Laissez Faire is the imperative,
meaning ‘let it do’.

A Laissez Faire leadership style is considered to be at the extreme end of the democratic leadership
style. The idea of ‘let them do whatever they want’-management could imply that it is a negative style,
with the manager involving him or herself as little as possible.

Laissez Faire leadership is often associated with leaving employees to their own devices. It is about
giving employees freedom.

Managers have very little personal influence and delegate almost everything.

Laissez Faire leadership is an extremely passive leadership style. Laissez-faire leaders also offer certain
resources, but do not supervise the process and trust that employees can work towards solutions on
their own. That means that employees are on their own. They decide for themselves what the right
and wrong ways of doing things are.

The danger of this style is that the manager may come across as uninvolved, indifferent or
unengaged.

The main disadvantages of Laissez Faire leadership are described below:

Lack of role awareness – the employee does not know what is expected of him within the team.

Lack of commitment – the employee does not feel committed to the group. There is no cohesion,
making it less likely that group members hold each other accountable.

Lack of responsibility – nobody supervises employees. This may lead to employees showing up for
work, but not feeling responsible for how they perform their tasks.

Passivity – when employees are unfamiliar with their task and/or the process as a whole, they will n ot
make as much of an effort as they might have otherwise.

Transactional

Transactional leadership is a managerial style that promotes compliance and attaining goals through
supervision, organization and a system of rewards and punishments. This results-oriented approach to
management works well with self-motivated employees and weeds out those who aren’t committed
to the common goal.
However, transactional leadership doesn’t focus on changing or improving the organization as a
whole. Instead, it aims to hit short-term and long-term goals while maintaining a routine, conformity
and the status quo within the company. The rewards or punishments are hence referred to as the
“transaction.”

Many high-level members of the military, CEOs of large international companies, and NFL coaches are
known to be transactional leaders.

Bill gates is a transactional leader. He delegates and guides through his employees on what exactly he
needs and how it can be worked on about, giving them very little freedom.

Control plays the central part in Transactional leadership. Bill Gates always focused on the completion
of the task in hand for the efficient and quick achievement of the target.

Transactional leadership sets up a series of rewards and punishments to motivate members of the
organization.

If these, individuals adequately meet the leader’s goals and expectations, they will be rewarded for
their hard work. On the other hand, if they fail or violate these goals and expectations, they may face
punishment.

Transformational

Transformational leadership inspires people to achieve unexpected or remarkable results. It gives

workers autonomy over specific jobs, as well as the authority to make decisions once they have been
trained.

Some of the basic characteristics of transformational leadership are inspirational, in that the leader
can inspire workers to find better ways of achieving a goal; mobilization, because leadership can
mobilize people into groups that can get work done, and morale, in that transformational leaders
raise the well-being and motivation level of a group through excellent rapport. They are also good at
conflict resolution.

Transformational leaders are sometimes call quiet leaders. They are the ones that lead by example.
Their style tends to use rapport, inspiration, or empathy to engage followers. They are known to
possess courage, confidence, and the willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good.

They possess a single-minded need to streamline or change things that no longer work. The
transformational leader motivates workers and understands how to form them into integral units that
work well with others.

Here are some of the characteristics of transformational leaders:

 Very well-organized and expect their followers to be creative

 Team-oriented and expect that followers will work together to create the best possible results
 Respected, and in turn respects followers
 Acts as coach of the team. He or she provides training and motivation to reach the desired
goals
 Responsible for their team, but also instills responsibility into team members
 Gives respect through rapport and a personal influence

One of the best uses of this leadership style is in an organization that is outdated and requires
serious retooling. It is also a perfect match for a small company that has big dreams and wants to
change and adapt.

Charismatic

Charismatic Leadership focuses on the leaders themselves. It’s the ability to communicate,
influence, and be comfortable in their own skin. Charisma is a process, a quality that requires
transforming visions into a reality. And this is precisely what you must follow as a leader or a
manager.

It is further defined by leaders who use their powerful personality and excellent communication
skills to persuade employees and keep them engaged during crises. If you are a charismatic leader,
you will help your organization move forward while it is struggling to progress.

Leaders who apply charismatic leadership tend to have a clear vision in business or politics and the
capability to address a large audience to influence them with a convincing speech.

Charismatic leaders motivate and inspire the workforce, encourages the importance of
camaraderie, collaboration, and teamwork. It involves good listening skills; hence employee
queries do not go unheard and they create a sense of positive change.

Charismatic leaders hold extremely refined skills in communication. Helping employees through
tough times and making them stay grounded during tough times is the motto of every charismatic
leader.

If you want to apply this leadership style, you must ensure you are equally good at one-to-one
meetings and communicating in a group setting. You must hear everyone and your message
should hold relevance, clarity, and understanding for your employees to follow and relate with it.

Famous People who are considered Charismatic Leader:

 Mother Theresa
 Jack Welch / CEO General Electric (GE)
 Steve Jobs / Apple