Leadership Style

Characteristics

• Gives some decision making to the employees
•  Explanation of the decisions
•  Encouraged views and ideas
•  Employees are listend to

Limitations

• Time consuming
• Slow decision making
• Can blame employees if it goes wrong
• Not appropriate for crises

Chacteristics

• Retain control
• Tend to pass information to the employees e.g. set objectives, allocate tasks, expect obediance from employees

Limitations

• Employees don't have freedom
• Don't encourage suggestions
• Employees become scared to voice opinions
• Dependant and no initiative

Characteristics

• Care about welfare of employees - duty of care  
• Taking employees views on board

Limitations

• Some views aren't considered (autocratic decision making)
• Don't encourage creativeness so no initiative

Characteristics

• Shared control
• Highly democratic
• Listening

Limitations

• More independant so may work as well
• Leader control is reduced

Characteristics

• Leader has small involvement
• Subordinates can make decisions
• Trust and respect to employees
• Encourage initiative

Limitations

• Lack of direction and mistakes being made
• Lack of supervision so may not work as hard

No single perfect style of leadership, the best leaders are those who can adapt their style depending upon the circumstances that they are faced with. The key of success leadership is FLEXIBILITY.

For example:

• Adopting a democratic approach when reaching a decision on an advertising campaign with a group of highly skilled marketing staff
• Change to paternalistic style when deciding on production methods to be used when meeting an urgent order from a regular customer.