Categories

Categories of
of
Leadership
Leadership
Objectives
1. Describe the Various Leadership Styles.
2. Explain the Relationship Between Leadership
Categories, Behavior, & Employment

Leadership Committee
May 2007
 Trait
• Assumes that some people are
“natural” leaders who possess certain
traits that others don’t.
• Early researchers believed that
leaders had unique qualities or traits
that distinguished them from their
peers.
 Trait
• Trait research has focused on
identifying leadership traits,
developing trait measurement
methods, and using the methods to
select leaders.
• The trait approach has been largely
unsuccessful in identifying universal
leadership characteristics.
 Power & Influence
• Explains leadership effectiveness in
terms of the amount and type of
power a leader possesses
• Leadership is more about influence,
than power.
 Behavioral Leadership

• Assumes that there are distinctive

styles that effective leaders use
consistently.
– Authoritarian style
– Democratic style
 Situational Leadership

• Referred to as “Contingency
Leadership”
• Comes from the fact that the
emergence or effectiveness of any
style is contingent on the situation in
which the leader is operating.
 Traditional
• The approach emphasizes getting
things done within the umbrella of
the status quo. It's considered to be
a "by the book" approach in which the
person works within the rules. As
such, it's commonly seen in large,
bureaucratic organizations.
 Popularity

• Referred to as “cognitive leadership”

• Leadership is often bestowed on those who
really don’t deserve it.
• Leadership should not be a popularity
contest.
• Leadership is all about getting results and
meeting goals and objectives.
Three Classic Leadership
Styles

 The Laissez Faire Leadership

Style
 The Autocratic Leadership Style
 The Participative Leadership Style
 Combination
• Unites all of the previous leadership
models and styles
• Should be viewed through four
frames or images of leadership:
authoritarian, democratic, political,
and traditional
 The Laissez Faire
Leadership Style
• The style is largely a "hands off"
view that tends to minimize the
amount of direction and face time
required. Works well if you have
highly trained and highly motivated
direct reports.
 The Autocratic
Leadership Style
• The style has its advocates, but it is
falling out of favor in many countries.
Some people have argued that the
style is popular with today's CEOs,
who have much in common with feudal
lords in medieval Europe.
 The Participative
Leadership Style
• It's hard to order and demand someone to
be creative, perform as a team, solve
complex problems, improve quality, and
provide outstanding customer service.
The style presents a happy medium
between over controlling (micromanaging)
and not being engaged and tends to be
seen in organizations that must innovate to
prosper.
Factors of Leadership
 Factors of Leadership
• Follower
• Leader
• Communication
• Situation
 Leadership Framework
• BE a professional. Examples: be loyal to the
organization, perform selfless service, take
personal responsibility. BE a professional who
possess good character traits. Examples:
honesty, competence, candor, commitment,
integrity, courage, straightforwardness,
imagination.
• KNOW the four factors of leadership -
follower, leader, communication, situation.
• KNOW yourself. Examples: strengths and
weakness of your character, knowledge, and
skills.
 Framework Cont.
• KNOW human nature. Examples: human
needs, emotions, and how people respond
to stress.
• KNOW your job. Examples: be proficient
and be able to train others in their
tasks.
• KNOW your organization. Examples:
where to go for help, its climate and
culture, who the unofficial leaders are.
• DO provide direction. Examples: goal
setting, problem solving, decision making,
planning.
 Framework Cont.
• DO implement. Examples:
communicating, coordinating,
supervising, evaluating.
• DO motivate. Examples: develop
moral and esprit in the organization,
train, coach, counsel.