Summer Assignment Part 1

Leadership is a very broad term that seems to hold different interpretations within
each person. Thinking of what a “good leader” means, a few words universally come to
mind, such as responsible, friendly and confident. In my own understanding, a good
leader is someone who knows how to quickly adapt in difficult situations, and lead others
to success with their actions. A good leader is someone who can cooperate with others,
no matter differences in personalities or styles, in terms of communication and work
ethic. Taking on the role of a leader is a big task that not everyone is capable of, which is
why learning leadership skills is so incredibly important in the modern workforce.
Summer Assignment Part 2

Leadership style Definition Characteristics/ Pros/Cons Examples Source

Traits Advantage/ Citations
Disadvantage

Authoritarian Individual ● Leader Pro : rules Bill Gates, https://w

control over all makes heavily Benito ww.very
decisions with almost all established and Mussolini, wellmind.
little to no input decisions outlined Vladimir com/what
from who they ● Discourage Con : little Putin -is-autocr
are leading. s out of the independence , atic-leade
box less freedom rship-279
thinking 5314

Charismatic Style that utilizes ● Focus on Pro : very Winston https://w

personal appealing motivating, Churchill, ww.better
relationships and to team followers feel Martin up.com/bl
persuasiveness members heard Luther King og/charis
● Strong Con : can easily Jr. matic-lea
clear become more dership
communica focused on self
tion than team

Laissez-faire A laid back style, ● Little Pro : Allows for Herbert https://w
where the leader guidance more creativity Hoover, ww.wgu.e
allows the from Con : Steve Jobs du/blog/w
groups to have a leaders Confusion hat-laisse
lot of ● People are about z-faire-lea
independence expected to leadership dership20
solve their 06.html#c
 own issues lose

Participative/ Shared ● Creativity Pro : High George The

Democratic leadership, rewarded productivity, Washington, Democrat
where the ● Group more creative Bill George ic Style of
members of the members ideas Leadershi
group can have a will feel Con : p.
large impact on rewarded communication
the decision failure
making process

Summer Assignment Part 3

Authoritarian : An authoritarian leader takes most of the responsibility in a group, by making

most of the decisions, which can increase productivity, but eventually discourages out of the box

thinking. Some examples of this leadership style would be Bill Gates and Vladimir Putin. In a

company like Bill Gates’ this style really works to strictly outline the job required of the worker,

but along the way group members may feel stifled, with little creative freedom.

Charismatic : Charismatic leaders use their social skills to gain the trust of their followers, with

strong communication these leaders are often very appealing to group members. While all this

sounds great, these leaders are prone to becoming self centered, other than that, they are also

capable of highly motivating their team. Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King Jr. are both

good examples, showing the effectiveness of this style in higher standing social positions.

Democratic : A type of leadership that provides each member of the group to have some input in

the decision making process. This leads to creativity being rewarded and praised, but can also

lead to lack of communication. George Washington and Bill George are both considered

democratic leaders. This style is quite effective in newer business models, with the allowance for
creative expression and ideas, the only thing that would need to be fixed, is the establishment of

a proper leadership figure.

Laissez-Faire: A style of leadership in which the “leader” doesn’t take much action, and rather

leaves team members to fend for themselves. While this take on leadership allows for a lot of

freedom and creativity, some group members need a stable source and understanding of who is

the leader, and this style of leadership cannot provide it. Members are expected to be able to

solve their own problems, and communicate with each other, which often leaves them confused

about who they should look to as a leader. Steve Jobs and Herbert Hoover and both examples.

Summer Assignment Part 4

After thoroughly researching all of the leadership styles required, I can soundly
reason which style would be the most effective in the general business world. First off, I
chose the Democratic leadership style, for a couple of reasons, mostly due to the fact that
it allows for a multi-management system and for worker independence. With worker
independence, there is an increased productivity and a surplus of creative ideas, which
can immensely benefit a company. To avoid the issue of lack of communication, rather
than a single leader, there can be leaders underneath, who manage different departments.
A system like this makes it streamline to contact a higher position, rather than jumping
through hoops to talk to the one lead person. Many presidents are democratic leaders, and
they have many members of their cabinet who manage the people underneath them, so
not everyone in congress or the senate is constantly contacting the president directly. This
can be directly applied to many other company situations, which is why it is probably the
best base leadership template to use in the business world, due to how adaptable it is.