Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, Essay Example

In accordance to the textbook’s description of participative leaders, my leadership style falls primarily under this category (DuBrin, 2013). Participative leaders tend to share decisions with their group members rather than making decision solely on their own, and I believe that even when acting as leader, it is important to ensure that every member of the team is able to contribute so that the best outcome is generated. Specifically, I am a consultative leader. While I believe that it is important to discuss decisions and methodologies with my employees, the leader typically has more executive experience and is more apt to make the correct decision than each individual member of the team combined. Therefore, I implement this leadership style to ensure that a variety of ideas and alternative options before the best one, according to my experience, is selected.

Consultative leadership is advantageous because it motivates employees by demonstrating to them that their ideas are valuable and ultimately have the ability to contribute to the success of the organization (Van Wormer et al., 2007). This will make them feel more committed to their work and enable them to work more efficiently. Consultative leadership is disadvantageous because it assumes that the leader is more knowledgeable about a topic than other members of the team and therefore holds the final authority (Sprouse, 2013). Mistakes can therefore be made when an employee provides input on his or her area of specialty, but the leader’s lack of understanding of the topic leads to the wrong decision. Another disadvantage of consultative leadership may be that the employees are not educated enough on the topic, and are able to convince the leader to make a decision that has little evidence to back up its efficacy.

Two other styles of leadership are autocratic leadership and democratic leadership. Autocratic leaders have complete authority over the decision and believe that the choice they make will be the best option. They are not concerned with how their employees will react towards the decision and trust that these individuals will work hard to carry out the designated plan. These individuals are task-oriented because they aim to work towards a goal and accomplish it quickly. Democratic leaders also retain the most power, but they function as vote collectors and as such, are willing to go with the choice that the majority of the team decides upon. The autocratic and democratic leadership styles function as opposites, since in autocratic leadership the leader has all of the power, and in democratic leadership the team has all the power. Consultative leadership is different from both of these styles, as it falls somewhere in-between these two extremes. In this leadership style, the team has some power and the leader has most of the power, which allows for a compromise that is lacking in both the autocratic and democratic leadership styles. It appears that consultative leadership is the best style for contributing to an exchange of ideas supported by the leader’s expertise.

Although many leaders tend towards one leadership style or another, it is important for effective leaders to be able to understand all of the different leadership styles. Ultimately, a leadership style that is effective for one group of individuals may not be as effective for another. For example, autocratic leadership is ideal when the team members know little about the decision that is being made and need maximal guidance to ensure that they are able to accomplish their individual tasks. On the other hand, democratic leadership is ideal when all team members are fairly knowledgeable about a particular decision or if the outcome of a decision is completely unpredictable. In this instance, it would be beneficial for each member of the team to present their knowledge on the topic so each can gain a greater understanding of what is at stake, before finally deciding what should be done. Consultative leadership is effective when team members are knowledgeable about a topic, but the leader is considered to be the expert.

Differences in leadership style preference can contribute to several problems in the workplace. A major conflict can arise when two leaders are required to discuss plans together. If one individual is authoritarian and the other democratic, for example, they will vary greatly in how they believe these plans should be accomplished. The authoritarian leader will want the project to be accomplished in a task-oriented manner, which means that the project will be completed more quickly and avail the team to work on another project. The democratic leader will not want to move forward with the project until input is provided from each member of the team in order to ensure the work that is done is of the highest quality, which will ultimately take a longer time. This problem could be overcome by allowing a more senior leader decide how the project should be completed, using consultative leadership to ensure that the opinions of the two lower level leaders are heard before the final decision is reached. In addition, each leader can be assigned to their own projects to avoid the need for this discussion.

An additional issue that could be encountered in the workplace due to differences in leadership styles is due to a differing educational background among two individuals. Ultimately, these problems are due primarily due to diverse education and work experiences that leaders have. Therefore, they tend to make decisions on the basis of what they have observed to be correct, often believing that their opinion is the only truth. While it is important to respect the knowledge of both individuals, it is important to remind them that they cannot both be correct and that a compromise must be met. It would be beneficial to resolve the problem by asking both leaders to calculate quantitatively which will be the best decision for the organization. In addition, it would be helpful to separate their responsibilities on the basis of their distinct knowledge, allowing each of them to act as the expert for relevant cases.

While conflicts can arise between individuals with distinct leadership styles, there are potential advantages that can come with these differences as well. First, it is important to consider that a solution that is thought of by one leader may not have been thought of by another. To capitalize on these advantages and increase productivity, it would therefore be beneficial for the two to discuss these different ideas together to decide upon which solution would be better or whether a hybrid of the two would be advantageous. In addition, different leadership styles could contribute to a greater expertise that will help make a more effective decision. Since individuals with different leadership styles often have different backgrounds, their knowledge on the field can be added together to make the best choice. Finally, different leadership styles can help a job be done quickly, but while considering all of the options. Since autocratic leaders are task-oriented and democratic leaders are idea oriented, a combination of plans created by these two individuals could potentially create a plan that optimizes both aspects of these original ideas.

References

DuBrin A. (2013). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Mason, OH: Cengage Ltd.

Sprouse C. (2013). Different Leadership Styles and Their Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved from http://www.hr.com/en/app/blog/2013/04/different-leadership-styles-and-  their-advantages-a_hfcoua95.html

Van Wormer KS, Besthorn FH, Keefe T. (2007). Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Macro Level: Groups, Communities, and Organizations. US: Oxford University Press.