Leadership Styles - Autocratic vs Democratic vs Bureaucratic - Case Study Example

Running Head: Case Study Name Instructor’s name Institution Subject Date Leadership styles The manner and the approach at which direction to doing a given activity is provided is what is referred to as Leadership Style. It stretches further to implementing plans and motivating people. It is said that leadership is more to the needs of the people and organization one is leading that to his/her personal needs. It is also of essence to note that the different leadership styles that exist are not to be tried but that they should be adapted considering the situation of particular demands, the involved people’s particular requirements, as well as the challenges that an organization/ company is being faced with (Experts, 2010). According to Daniel Goleman, an effective leader is one who is able to move among the leadership styles and one who adapts as to the needs of that particular moment and most often when they are faced with challenges/difficulties. For instance in the DGL International case, they needed John to apply a leadership style the best situated the changes they wished to have applied in the company. In the choice of John Terrill, they were in search of a leadership style that was different from what was being applied and used at that time in their company upon leading to the need for urgent situations (MMDI, 2009). In leadership style application, one has to bear in mind what their strengths and weaknesses are from which they should consider what the leadership style is best for the people of the organization/company they wish to lead; this will be in line with the needs of the situation to be able to record success with the approach that will be best placed for maximum impact (Schriesheim, 1982). As from the DGL International case, the arrival John Terrill so his application of various styles since there were various situations that need different leadership styles not forgetting the wishes of the people and the needs of the organization he was in. John therefore applied various leadership styles among them being; Visionary Style, Participative style, Free Reign style, Authoritarian style, Transformational Leader, Ideological leadership. Visionary Style The fact that DGL International brought in John Terrill to be able to bring in change in the technical services division and informed him of the situation means that they needed a visionary leader. This meant that John was to apply the visionary style of leadership. The visionary style of leadership is a style which is most appropriate in situations where an organisation/ company want to take a different direction. The goal of the visionary style of leadership is to move the people towards a new set of shared dreams. The leaders who apply this style are able to articulate the direction at which the group would want to take (Murray, 2011). This to some extent sets people free to being innovative since they are able to use the time in what they can do best, experiment, and also take calculated risks. The visionary leaders are the bearers of a new dawn to a company/organization for they work with insight and boldness. The leaders are able to present a challenge which they call for the people they are working with to come together around a common shared sense. They more often than not work with the power of intentionality as well as alignment not forgetting a higher purpose. Moreover, their eyes are always on the horizon and not just on the near hand. These leaders are social innovators and also change agents, they see the big picture and they also think strategically. They serve the good of the whole. For instance, Terrill did what he had to do to have a better production for the good of DGL International Company (the whole). He recognized that there was truth from the people he talked to in regards to the challenge that GDL International was faced with. In its application, the leaders need to show people the way, galvanise the people so that they can be able to share in your big picture and do not forget to remind them of the picture now and then. This idea helps in motivating the people to do what they are required to do in their jobs. Transformational Leadership style This is the form of leadership that is known to cause change to the individuals as well as the social systems of a workplace. John to some extent applied this leadership style when he asked for the reports to his desk and when people went asking for the allowances for work they never did. Change had taken place in the workplace. This form of leadership style in its ideal form creates positive and valuable change in the followers, who in this case are the engineers to being leaders (MMDI, 2009). When this style is enacted in its authentic form, it is possible to enhance morale, motivation as well as performance of the people being led. This is achieved through various mechanisms which include the follower’s sense of identity, collective identity, and a self to the mission of the organization. Being a role, model to the followers challenges and inspires them as well to being able to take a greater ownership of their work. With this great understanding by the leader about the followers makes the leader be able to align his followers with the tasks that at all levels optimise their performance (MMDI, 2009). For an organization that applies the Transformational style of leadership, they are able to motivate as well as inspire their personnel mostly for those organisations that are faced with the direction challenge. The style will be good for it will provide them with the sense of purpose and meaning which in turn brings them (employees) together therefore being able to achieve their common goals. There has been growth in the form of evolution of the style to a transforming organizational framework. The framework therefore focuses on the following components: an environment that is active and disorderly an organisation being a background for capacity building transformational leadership that facilitates, assembles and lifts up human and organizational processes maximizing employee and corporate capabilities characterises the outcomes not forgetting the people’s contributions to a company that is progressive This leadership style has received a lot of praise mostly in the progressive companies of today due to its emphasis on vision, challenging the traditional leadership hypothesis and employee empowerment (Murray, 2011). Participative leadership style A participative style of leadership is known for it plays an important role in the maintaining of a good relation among the team/people involved. This involvement results to an effective teamwork. Considering that leadership plays a very important role in any working environment, the participative leadership style is a very essential factor in any business environment today. The style is good for it’s is able to establish healthy relationships between the leaders and the employees. This style in essence implies that the employees are able to give their suggestion various issue of working environment. They are part of some of the crucial decisions along with their managers (Experts, 2010). In the DGL case, Terrill went to the engineers wanting to know to know what was wrong that they were not seen to produce, and from them he got to know what was wrong or where the problem was. Here we see Terrill apply the participative style of leadership which is people oriented, build personal relationships, motivates, and he can be seen to be a likeable person from the conversation he had with the 20 engineers, his personal skills and care for others which Terrill demonstrates. Another issue that shows the application of this method by Terrill is the fact that he avoided conflict and handled the matter with an open mind. The authoritarian leadership style This leadership is practiced when most of the time the leader is giving instructions. The leader has great power over the followers and others cannot give him advice or their opinions. He makes all the decisions without the participation of the followers in offering opinions. This leadership style is mostly applied when employers tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, their followers should not give any opinions. Bossing around should be used in the name of authoritarian leadership, it should be used on rare occasions only not every time (MMDI, 2009). The fact that Terrill required that the reports be forwarded to his desk and no one asked why is a feature an authoritarian style of leadership. He then walks to the management’s office to report the malpractice that had been taking place in the organisation. Free Reign style This is the kind of style where a leader allows the employees to make decision. The leader however remains responsible for the decisions that are made by the employees. The style is mostly applied where the employees are able to analyse a give situation and being able to determine what needs to be done as well as how to do it. The leader of this style needs to be able to set priorities and be able to delegate to certain tasks. The style should not be used so that one can blame others anytime something goes wrong (Murray, 2011). It should therefore to be used where one has full confidence and trust in the people that he delegates the work to. In the case of DGL International, Terrill came in with a way of ensuring that there is results and also that the executive was able to share in his thoughts of what the problem in DGL International was that the engineers were not productive. The best suited leadership style that would have been best for application in DGL International was Moral leadership. Below is a discussion for why this style of leadership was best for the DGL International. Moral Leadership Style This style is highly related to the leader’s moral character as well as the ability to act as a role model for the followers/ employees. To start with, moral leaders are known to treat people under them fairly, he respects agreements, he exhibits kindness and there is no time they happen to abuse authority. Terrill in his style exhibits the qualities of a moral leader (Newstrom, 1993). He went first to talk to the people involved and he did show concern for their personal welfare which most appropriately would and went well with the engineers that they were able to talk out what they found to be a problem in their view. Comparing this style with a style such as the authoritarian style, most of the authoritarian measure will be seen to backfire as compared to the moral style of leadership. The style has been to leave the employees frustrated and very unhappy with the management. When there is excessive use of the authoritarian style, there is a great likelihood to undesirable consequences as seen the leaders and followers context. It is also important that the views of the employees (engineers) are taken in consideration just like Terrill did. That way, the engineers feel being part of the decision process and therefore be able to show production in their line of operation. References Experts, L. (2010). Leadership Styles – Autocratic vs Democratic vs Bureaucratic. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Leadership Experts: http://www.leadership-expert.co.uk/leadership-styles/ Mate.org, B. (2010). What is Paternalistic Style of Leadership. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Business Mate.org: http://www.businessmate.org/Article.php?ArtikelId=189 MMDI. (2009). Leadership Styles. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Jung Typology: http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/leadership-styles.html Murray, A. (2011). Leadership Styles. The Wall Street Journal Guide to Management” . Newstrom, J. W. (1993). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York City: McGraw-Hill. Schriesheim, C. A. (1982, April). The Great High Consideration: High Initiating Structure Leadership Myth: Evidence on its Generalizability. The Journal of Social Psychology , 221-228. tutor2U.com. (2010). People - Management styles. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from tutor2U.com: http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_management_styles.htm Read More