The style a leader selects to lead depends on the situation and the advantages that the style has over the others There exists five classes of leadership styles with varying merits of which the leader can analyze to identify the style which best suits to his/her needs The styles include authoritarian, participative, transformational, procedural and Laissez-faire leadership styles. Authoritarian style has the leader with unlimited power over his/her team members and are obliged to award credit where it is due and punish wrongdoings, Procedural style involves team members following procedures systematically and only focuses on getting the work done by the members of that particular organization. In the transformation style, the leader depends on his charisma to inspire the working staff.
The leader inspires the team the vision it should achieve and every member selects his/her own ways of achieving the entire stated goal of the groups Participative is also called democratic or consulting and in this case the leader consults the team members under him before taking an action thus the leader’s final decision relies on mutual contribution from the team. Laissez-faire style involves a leader meeting the needs of the team and the whole group gets involved in decision making. Management involves attaining organizational goals in an effective and efficient way through leading, controlling and communicating. Effective communication is a vital tool as far as management is concerned by aiding information flow either vertically, horizontally or diagonally Recognizing talent and opportunity falls as subsidiary parts of management under controlling.
In this style of leadership, the leader relies on his subjects ‘contributions before making the final decisions Every person in an organization has a role to perform of which when integrated to steering an organization towards the right direction. The style involves a leader reasoning with his/ her staff and persuading them to perform a given task The leader builds consensus with the staff below him through participation. He asks the opinions of the team and makes use of them to make ultimate decisions Since the leader is not deemed to know everything, he selects other skillful members who help to make decisions thus the decision does not come from one person This is important because wrong decisions made by one person can be disadvantageous to the organization. Thus, I choose this style as my leadership style This style of leadership keeps the team informed and allows discussion and proposal of any policy changes from the team.
The style does not show a sign of weakness> but rather a sign of strength is shown by the leader to the members which exhibit respect in the entire group The style is used when team working becomes vital and in situations when quality becomes paramount than both speed and productivity Participative leadership style is used in organizations where flexibility and a sense of member responsibility are required. For instance, the style finds ideal application at the university organization where the vice chancellor relies on the opinions of deans of different departments and the deputy vice chancellor before making a final decision. Individuals with expertise in making decisions and good conceptual skills are the people required in this leadership style since they are the one to come up with ideas that help the overall manages.
The participative style expects to achieve confidence and encourage staff to work together as a team toward arriving a common goal as the final effects such that they can enter a management role in the future. Every member is motivated differently to achieve the interests of the organization. During a participation, some members may sit on their opinions and fail to expose them for discussion, Further, good opinions from the leader or other members of the team may be watered down by other colleagues no matter how good the opinions may be, This can be primarily be attributed to lack of motivation thus motivation of members should be given key priority in an organization. According to the research, I was startled especially under the motivarion part of the research. In line with the research, 59% of the working staff felt that the enjoyment of the job motivates them more.
As one can expect, bonuses should give the highest morivation to the members of which is contrary with the assessment. This aspect gives the lowest motivation in comparison with autonomy, fair treatment, getting on with colleagues and the amount of pay motivators. Money is not everything and a member given much cash with less time of spending may make him/her less motivated in the work, but this motivator surprisingly gives the second highest motivation according to the assessment. In participative style of leadership, every member has a role to play thus individual opinions should be given priority. The method to use to communicate among rhe members should be ideal and a system that recognizes their efforts be developed. Under management functions, effective communication, recognizing talent and opportunity, my role as an advisor it has been discussed.
The way they can be applied to achieve smooth operation of the organization is as below I would structure my staff in a hierarchical manner and the responsibilities attached to each position be stipulated. The power and delegation at each position should be made known to every member within the participative group such every individual knows whom to report to and whom to report to them. This will ensure information flows from bottom to top or top to bottom the action thus will avoid random communication that may lead to grapevine and chaotic flow of information. Through this, effective communication will be achieved 22 Recognizing talent As the team is allowed to think and discuss the opinion before the ultimate decision is made, every group member will be provided with a chance to expose his/her ideal I will develop a system that analyzes the performance of the team after every two months through performance appraisal.
This will assist to identify a weakness or talent of individuals within the group and credit be given if need be. Those members who have talent that fits in a particular section of idea formulation will be shifted into these areas in order fully utilize their talents. 2.3 Recognizing opportunity As a leader, I will identify an opportunity by understanding the environment that am discharging my services Getting a good know how of the participative group will grant me the opportunity to identify small things that I may be able to turn to beneficial opportunities I will also be able to get advice from the senior management and emulate successful mentors. The acquired knowledge will be applied towards the benefits of the group as a whole entity. As an advisor, I’ll assist the team in setting realistic goals ensuring opportunities for individual and group development.
Also, I will help the organization justify its expenditure of the participative team and look for information relevant to the well-being of the group through routine attendance of meetings with the top management, Moreover, l’ll encourage each group member to participate in and aid in the group event. This paper presented various styles of leadership that is authoritarian, transformation, participative, procedural and Laissez-faire. It further gives more detailed information about participative style and the way it can be utilized in management functions such as recognizing talent, recognizing an opportunity, the role of an advisor and achieve effective communication within the team it is applied. The hierarchical structure of the organization will by a great percentage ensure the above stated management functions are achieved, An individual’s style of leadership depends on the situation and whether the merits of that style outweigh its demerits and its superiority over other leadership styles, Leaders should have knowledge of these styles for them to identify the one that best suits them.
