THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP NETWORK

JJ shares his thoughts on different styles of leadership

I am JJ Liggins, a member of Steering Group at the National Leadership Network (NLN). I have always been interested in leadership and that is why I am writing this blog while I am on work experience with the NLN. Leadership is viewed differently depending on the person. There are many different types of leadership styles that leaders have incorporated into their systems to provide growth and inspire others to do their best. There have been many effective leaders with unique styles over the years. In this blog I am going to delve into some different styles of leadership and the strategies used by different leaders along with the different types of leadership shown in National Leadership Network Steering Group meetings. 

Transformational leadership  

A fitting example of a transformational leader is Winston Churchill. Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that requires a leader to motivate others to achieve a collective goal. Transformational leaders often believe in their vision so much they can convince others to do the same. The good things about transformational leaders I think are they can put a greater focus on the vision and build stronger relationships resulting in higher engagement from others around them. However, there is always faults in this leadership style such as constant pushing towards a goal which can lead others into feeling exhausted, needing elevated levels of motivation to meet goals and can end up with high competitiveness within a team.

Autocratic leadership  

An example of an autocratic leader is Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, who made key decisions without much input from others. Autocratic leaders tend to have everything done their way and usually make decisions without input from others by imposing policies and outlining expectations for others to follow. The advantages of an autocratic leader are decisions are made faster along with expectations being clear and directions are easy to follow. However, the trouble with autocratic leadership is that people can feel unmotivated and de valued. People can also feel uninvolved in the task at hand without providing their input and opinion.  

Democratic leadership  

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group is an example of a democratic leader. Democratic leadership allows everyone in the team to get involved to make important decisions as everyone’s input is encouraged but in the end the leader will have the final say. The advantages of a democratic leadership style are employees feel included in the task resulting in increased engagement and satisfaction along with a bigger chance to find creative or inventive solutions to a problem or to finalise an important decision. However, the problem with a democratic leadership style is decision making can take time and could be unproductive. Multiple perspectives can make it hard to reach an agreement to allow others to carry on meeting a target or goal, it is often described as “too many cooks in the kitchen’’.  

Transactional leadership  

Sir Alex Ferguson is an example of a transactional leader who was the ex manager of Manchester United and had a lot of success using this leadership style. Transactional leadership involves a model of rewards and punishment for their employees. The advantages of transactional leadership are that it is easy to understand and implement as employees know exactly what is expected from them and the potential for rewards can be motivating. However, the negatives of a transactional leadership approach would be it reduces creativity from other people in the group and a ridged work environment due to relying on rules and procedures. 

Laize –faire 

Steve Jobs is an example of a laize faire leader who was the CEO of Apple. A laize fair leadership style often involves the leader showing a hands-off approach towards employees allowing them to use their own initiative to get the job done the way they see most fitting. The advantages of a laize faire leadership style would be others are given space to grow along with a positive working environment with the people involved feeling valued. However, the problems with this style would be potential low levels of productivity leading to people feeling lost with a lack of guidance.  

Servant leadership 

Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer, and politician is an example of a servant leader. Servant leadership involves the leader placing the value of a team or others around them above themselves meaning the main goal is that the team or organisation grows. Servant leaders do their best to serve their team to make sure everyone is happy when completing tasks. The advantages of a servant leadership style would be a collaborative and supportive working environment, increased job satisfaction and team morale along with a higher opportunity for personal development. The downside to a servant leader would be decision making is slowed down and the goals of the organization can be neglected. 

Overall, there are many different types of leadership and different leaders everywhere using the strategy that suits them best. In the NLN Steering Group I would say that Gary Brown and Barry Black use a servant, laize faire/democratic leadership style during meetings to allow others to be their own leaders to get their points across to the rest of the group during discussions by opening the floor for everyone to say their piece during the conversations. This is good as it allows other people to have the freedom to get their ideas across to the group without there being a right or wrong answer, as we are all working towards the same goal. Personally I would say I’m a transformational leader, if I have an idea I would try and present it in way to others that they believe in it as much as myself.

I don’t think leadership should be defined in one way as there are many different ingredients involved in the making of an effective leader. We all have our own leadership styles and strategies that we use individually to get a task done the best way we see fit.