Vocabulary Basics for Business [Electronic resources]

Barbara G. Cox

نسخه متنی -صفحه : 217/ 177

Leadership Styles

Report to Leader Search Committee
Dear Committee Members:
We asked the final four candidates for your leadership
position to complete a questionnaire about their
leadership style. A sample of the items and the
responses from the four candidates are shown below. The
candidates were asked to mark the items that are "like
me." The checkmarks in the boxes indicate which items
each candidate marked.

`SAMPLE ITEMS`	`CANDIDATES:`	`1`	`2`	`3`	`4`
`1. Trust groups to make good decisions on their own`
`2. Allow workers total freedom in their work`
`3. Let workers use their own judgment in most things`
`4. Cope well with delays`
`5. Test ideas with followers`
`6. Make decisions after hearing group input`
`7. Make decisions jointly with group members`
`8. Establish uniform procedures for workers to follow`
`9. Keep work moving quickly at all times`
`10. Schedule the tasks to be done`
`11. Make key decisions without much group input`
`12. Assume responsibility for even small details`

Based on these results, we have made the following
conclusions about the leadership styles of the four
candidates:
• Candidate 1 uses a highly autocratic leadership style.
He or she likes to make decisions without group input,
likes to be in control of all aspects of workers
tasks, likes uniformity, and is more task-oriented
than person-oriented.
• Candidates 2, 3, and 4 all use some level of a
participative leadership style.
• Candidate 2 uses a consultative participative
leadership style. Notice that he or she makes final
decisions after hearing group input.
• Candidate 3 uses a democratic participative leadership
style. Notice that he or she gives followers a voice
by making decisions with them jointly.
• Candidate 4 uses a laissez-faire participative
leadership style. He or she allows workers the
greatest degree of freedom and decision-making power.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

Circle T or F to indicate whether each of the following statements is true or false. Use the context clues in the preceding report to help you decide.

1. Autocratic leaders make key decisions without much input from others.

A1:

True. Auto- means "self." -Crat- comes from the Greek word for "power." An autocratic leader holds the power himself or herself. These leaders do not seek much input from followers.

2. Democratic and consultative leadership styles are two kinds of participative leadership.

A2:

True. Participative leadership refers to styles of leadership that involve followers in some way or otherfrom strictly providing information to actually making decisions.

3. A leader with the consultative style tends to consult with the group to get information and then make the ultimate decision himself or herself.

A3:

True. Consultative leaders do consult with the group. They do not give the group the power to make the decision, however.

4. Leaders with a laissez faire leadership style are probably fairly relaxed and easygoing.

A4:

True. Laissezfaire leaders are the leaders who give the most decision making power to the group.

5. A leader with the democratic leadership style tends to let others have a voice or "vote" in decision making.

A5:

True. Democratic leaders give some power to the group. The group has a say in the decision. Remember that the prefix demo- means "people."

TERMS RELATED TO LEADERSHIP STYLES

participative leadership style a style of leadership that actively seeks input from followers regarding, for example, developing plans, problem solving, and decision making; three types of participative leadership style are the consultative, democratic, and laissezfaire styles

consultative leadership style a participative leadership style that seeks input from followers but does not give them a "vote"; decisions are made by the leader

democratic leadership style a participative leadership style that allows followers to have a voice or influence in the decision-making process; decisions are made by the leader and the group

laissez-faire leadership style also called free-reign leadership style; a participative leadership style that allows followers to make their own decisions in matters that affect them; decisions are made by the group, with input from the leader and assistance when needed

autocratic leadership style the style of a taskmaster who makes all decisions and tells others what to do