Key change in my professional practice

 

Research and Community Informed Practice – Assessment 3

By Iwa Kaa

A leadership style is the way in which a person in an authoritative position exercises their responsibilities, such as decision making

I have decided to stay with the topic that has been my major focus during this course.

My past assignments have majorly focused on Leadership.   So for I am continuing with the same topic: 3 Different styles of leadership.  My focus will be 3 forms of leadership that I can relate to.

 Authoritative leader

My very first leadership encounter in my teaching courier was an authoritative leader.   All staff meetings were conducted by the leader, it was apparent that decisions were made pre-meeting.  So our meetings were really just going through a formal process.

 Authoritative decision making

“Authoritative decision making is one decision making style utilised by leaders. If it becomes the one method a leader uses, it can cause serious problems. In any particular situation, it's useful to have a range of different strategies to choose from.” 

Having being faced with this type of leadership left staff feeling undervalued.  Staff decided as soon as the clock struck 4pm they would leave the building.

Leaders who use an authoritarian decision-making style make all the major group decisions and demand compliance from all group members.   Authoritarian leaders typically make decisions alone and tell other group members what to do and how to do it.  Authoritarian leadership can be beneficial when a decision needs to be made quickly or when a project or situation is particularly stressful.  Depending on the situation, this aspect could actually be listed under both pros and cons.

Facilitative leader

The facilitative decision making style indicates a joint effort between leaders and subordinates, both providing input to make a shared decision. It is important that subordinates have access to the information required to make the decision. They should also have some degree of expertise and/or motivation to ensure an effective decision is made.

Responsibility for this decision is shared and this style can actually be very empowering to subordinates, unlike the authoritative decision style which can have quite the opposite effect. The facilitative style is useful when the risks of a poor decision are minimal and the benefits of including the subordinates are significant, such as arranging timetables, or benefit programs

Expressive leadership

An expressive focuses on maintaining group cohesion. Leaders who are dominantly expressive work to maintain warm, friendly relationships and ensure the collective well-being of the group. They make good bosses because they truly care for their employees. However, they are sometimes lacking efficiency and organisational skills.

Although most leaders are dominantly instrumental or expressive, both styles are needed for groups to work effectively. So, the most effective leaders have the ability to use the style that best fits the situation. They can switch from being instrumental and focusing on the task, to being expressive and focusing on collaboration, whenever they see a need.

Richard Branson a leader I have much respect for is a successful leader.  Words usually connected to his name include fun, anti-establishment, warm, friendly, risk taker, adventurer, opportunist, fast, competitive, hard negotiator and workaholic. According to trait theories of leadership these are all of which make up a good leader.

Branson has a participative leadership style, too. He believes that “no one can be successful alone and you cannot be a great leader without great people to lead.” So his leadership style boils down to caring for his employees. He also said that he believes in the art of delegation, in finding the right people and in giving them the freedom and push to flourish on their own.

What sort of leader do you believe you are, and how can you work towards becoming a true leader?

https://study.com/academy/lesson/leadership-styles-and-types-authoritarian-laissez-faire-democratic.html#/transcriptHeader

https://www.decision-making-confidence.com/authoritative-decision-making.html

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/loyal-employees-assets-liabilities-brigette-hyacinth/

https://www.slideshare.net/simon_priest/facilitative-leadership