B. Leadership and Management Styles

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 443.

A. Leadership roles

Now scan the other two texts quickly. Was everything mentioned in the summary?

Summarise the results of your discussion and report them to the class.

Leaders have three essential roles. They have to:

1. Define the task - they have to make it quite clear what the group is expected to do.

2.Achieve the task - that is why the group exists. Leaders ensure that the group's purpose is fulfilled. If it is not, the result is frustration, disharmony, criticism and, eventually perhaps, disintegration of the group.

3. Maintain effective relationships - between themselves and the members of the group, and between the people within the group. These relationships are effective if they contribute to achieving the task. They can be divided into those concerned with the team and its morale and sense of common purpose, and those concerned with individuals and how they are motivated.

J.Adair (1) suggested some time ago that these demands are best expressed as areas of need which leaders are there to satisfy. These are: (1) task needs - to get job done, (2) individual needs to harmonize the needs of the individual with these of the task and the group and (3) group needs - to build and maintain team spirit.

Leaders and managers may adopt different approaches when dealing with their staff. The approach a leader or manager adopts is called his or her management style. The following are examples of contrasting styles:

Charismatic/non-charismatic. Charismatic leaders rely on their personality, their inspirational qualities and their 'aura'. They are visionary leaders who are achievement orientated, calculated risk takers and good communicators. Non-charismatic leaders rely mainly on their know-how (authority goes to the person who knows), their quiet confidence and their cool, analytical approach to dealing with problems.

Autocratic/democratic. Autocratic leaders impose their decisions, using their position to force people to do as they are told. Democratic leaders encourage people to participate and involve themselves in decision taking.

Enabler/Controller. Enablers inspire people with their vision of the future and empower them to accomplish team goals. Controllers manipulate people to obtain their compliance.

Transactional/transformational. Transactional leaders trade money, jobs and security for compliance. Transformational leaders motivate people to strive for higher-level goals.