Leadership
Leadership is the art of motivating a person or influencing a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal by equipping them with the right tools and strategies to maximize the success of an organization. There are a few different styles of leadership noted.
Autocratic. Where there is an Autocratic style of leadership, the leader makes all the decisions with little or no input from the team members. An authoritarian leader believes that they are the smartest and know more than others; hence this type of leadership may not be appropriate in certain situations, for instance where there is a need to make crucial decisions. The autocratic style of leadership is best used in cases where control is essential, and there is little margin for error. Despite eliminating arguments over how and why things get done, Autocratic leadership profoundly reduces the likelihood of getting a range of different ideas from different people and makes people feel less important.
Democratic style Democratic leaders may ask what the people in an organization think since they understand there is no organization without its people. They share information with the employees about anything concerning the organization. Leaders also seek and acquire opinions before approving a final decision. Despite sharing and finding information, democratic leaders make final decisions on their own. Democratic leadership encourages ownership of the organization and fosters friendships and good relationships throughout the organization. This type of leadership makes everyone in the organization makes everyone feel important.
Collaborative. Collaborative leadership is whereby the leader involves almost everyone in the organization not only to give information but also employees make decisions and keeps track of the organization. There is not only an enhanced relationship between the employees and the leader since they share a common goal, but there is also harmony. To be effective, collaborative leaders have to let go of the need for control or power. Collaborative leadership is crucial as it allows everyone to be creative and ambitious towards success. Working under a collaborative leader is great for professional growth as it creates an atmosphere of trust and security, which makes employees open to forever taking risks. The leadership is also likely to possess contextual intelligence because it involves people from different functional areas.
Authoritative style. Authoritative leadership is also called Visionary leadership. It refers to administration where the leader sets the goals and determines the processes it takes to reach those goals with no input from the members, hence the leader is in complete control. It is best used to solve current issues.
Transformational leadership is where a leader works with teams to identify needed change while transactional leadership is leadership under someone who values order and structure. Transactional leadership is dependent on self-motivated people working well in a structured environment. Transformational leadership motivates and inspires workers to become leaders whereby the leaders are often described as mentors. Unlike in transformational leadership, transactional leaders focus on the role of supervision and how the organization performs.
I was comparing transformational and transactional leadership.
Transformational leadership addresses issues before becoming a predicament while transactional leadership is more likely to react to problems as they arise. Transformational leadership emphasizes new ideas that transform organizations, while transactional leadership operates within an existing culture. Transformational leadership motivates the employees by keeping them invested in projects as a way to achieve positive results. Transformational leaders appeal for the organization’s success; in contrast, transactional leaders appeal to the self-interest of employees. Transformational leaders can take higher risks, make tough decisions, and also they inspire learning and entertain new ideas, whereas transactional leaders rely on results and uphold the organization’s norms.