Leadership Styles and Their Effectiveness Essay

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group leader? - Find define leadership styles - Evaluate leadership effectiveness leadership styles.

When it comes to different leadership styles there are many different types to choose from. At the same time, there is also no concrete consensus as to the one style that can be called the best. Depending on the situation, a particular style will be most suitable; even so, one needs to check whether there is in fact a correlation amid business type, team dynamics and culture, as well as age in order to find out the one style that is used the most. This article will be examining the different methods of managerial leadership to find out which ones are the most pragmatic and considered to be the best (Boykins, 2013).

Command & Control Leadership

The article called Five Leadership Styles for Successful Project Management lists the Command & Control Style to be the one leadership style that is most suitable for any situation in which one knows what is required to achieve an objective. It is also perfect for situations where the individual/individuals with whom one is working with are not familiar. The Command & Control style is made use of mostly when a crisis situation arises or when one has to work with people who are not knowledgeable about the task on hand. If a person does not have much knowledge about their task or when direction needs to be given to an assignment, then this technique is the best. An effective manager knows when to use this technique which however is not so popular among project team-members (Meyers, 2012).

A leader who uses the Command & Control style of management will find it easy to get an organization back on track. Such kinds of leaders are very good in solving problems and they can handle challenges that crop up in projects. They will also find it easy to solve problems or find a good alternative solution. Command & Control leaders who are asked to provide direction will prove to be very effective. The military is a good example as there is one real leader and his directions are followed by multiple subordinates.

The article titled How Command and Control as a Change Leadership Style Causes Transformational Change Efforts to Fail says that Command & Control is focused on exercising power over people and processes within a business. In a project where outside stimuli are separated or protected and where the outset and project plan is shaped as well as executed, there will be many different calming circumstances. In a Command & Control environment, there is no need to make employees change and they also do not have to be taken on board to ensure the success of the project. Even so, there is no guarantee that such leadership style will guarantee success, especially when the project has a transitional timeframe. Such projects seldom succeed when use of Command & Control style is used (Anderson, Anderson, 2013).

The article, The Command and Control Management Method says that there are disadvantages of the Command & Control style. It goes on to say that many times, managers may not be able to micromanage the team as a whole, especially when there is a dearth of managers. In a project where people are working on different aspects, such management types are generally ineffective because management will work for one instance, but will then disappear because the manager has to shoulder responsibility of micromanaging various team-members. It would result in major problems because the manager is not in a position to know whether what they have to manage has been done correctly (Spolesky, 2006).

Relations-Oriented Leadership

An article titled Five Leadership Styles for Successful Project Management says that "effective managers build rapport among people on their team. They encourage them to bond with each other, work as a team and focus people on common goals" (Meyers, 2012). Any leader that makes use of the Relations-Oriented style of management will have to concentrate on inspiring their team members and look after their affairs.

Another article called Tasks vs. Relationship Leadership Theories demonstrates that a Relations-Oriented leader is will need to concentrate their energies on interacting with people as "those who often acts as mentors to their subordinates." Such leaders will make appointments with employees and will use their feedback to make suitable decisions and to create an enjoyable and positive environment (Morley, 2013). Leadership Styles - Leadership skills from Mindtools spells out most of the qualities pertaining to Relating style of management.

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Leaders who use such a style of management will concentrate and "organize, support and develop the people on their teams." Such a style is effective because it encourages participation and works as a team to achieve goals. Such leaders will also lay emphasis on strong communication and will encourage collaboration as well as team-work. The hallmark of Relations-Oriented leadership is that every team member is treated equally and will be easily accessible to others.

Such bosses will concentrate on the well-being of every team member and will be available to provide advice to their team members. This article talks about the positives and negatives of such a leadership style. It demonstrates "the benefits of this leadership style are that people-oriented leaders create teams that everyone wants to be a part of" and many times, team members will not be averse to taking risks because they know their leader will support them. The negative aspect of Relations-Oriented leadership is that there is a risk that "some leaders might take things too far," and they may be more focused on team development instead of on the task on hand (Mindtools.com, 2013).

Hands-on Leadership

Five Leadership Styles for Successful Project Management says that Hands-On style of management works best "when project managers need to step in and get the job done" (Meyers, 2012). Linda Ray, a writer has written an article called, What is Hands-On Leadership? She says that genuine Hands-On Leadership is one where the leader is fully responsible and where he leads from the front and has the capability of working along with his subordinates to realize the company's objectives. Eryn Travis wrote in another article called, What is Hands-On Leadership? Hands-on leaders are people who are able to combine the worlds of leadership and management and will create a vision and model behavior without being totally detached from everyday needs and business operations. Hands-On leadership means that leadership has to be blended with management and it requires constant feedback. It also means that employees need to be coached and the leader demonstrates by example and keeps communication lines open. The plus side to this leadership style is that there is both positive as well as negative organization as well as customer news. This is made possible because the leader knows the industry inside out. The negative side to Hands-On leadership is that it does not work when an experienced as well as effective worker is already executing at an elevated level (Travis, 2013).

Hands on Managers vs. Micromanagers is an article that talks about some basics and it also talks about the plus and minus points of Hands-On Style of management. Managers making use of this approach will work along with employees on the task at hand. One plus point to Hands-On managers is that such managers can lead through example, because they are willing to do same type of work as the employee does. This results in the manager being aware of team members that are in need of coaching or training. Even so, being closely involved with employees is also not good, because it may result in alienating workers and it can also stop the manager from properly schooling and overseeing his team (Kokemuller, 2013).

Coaching Leadership

The Coaching Management has been talked about in the article called Five Leadership Styles for Successful Project Management. It says that this is a style which aids in people development for the long-term. Any leader who uses this style will want to concentrate on advising the members of their team and also follow them to make sure that goals are achieved on a timely basis (Meyers, 2012). In the article called 6 Leadership Styles, And When You Should Use Them, an identical sentiment is expressed on leaders that resort to using the Coaching style. The article says that a coaching leader must develop people for the long-term and it is also a very effective style, especially when leaders take the trouble of helping teammates build up long lasting personal strengths that help them become successful. Another aspect talked about in the article is that this technique does not work when team members do not respond to feedback or when they do not show a willingness to learn (Benincasa, 2012).

In yet another article called How Coaching as a Leadership Style Boosts Morale one finds more detailed explanation about Coaching leadership style. This article also spells out 5 reasons why this style works well. It.....

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