Lewin’s Leadership Styles

Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his leaders styles framework in the 1930s, and it provided the foundation of many of the advancementes that followed subsequentlywards. He argued that there are three major leadership stylesAutocratic leaders exculpate decisions without consulting their police squad members, even if their input would be useful. This can be appropriate when you need to make decisions quickly, when theres no need for squad input, and when team up agreement isnt necessary for a successful outcome. However, this style can be demoralizing, and it can lead to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and great deal are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. As a result, team members tend to have high job satisfaction and high productivity. This is not always an impelling style to use, though, when you need to make a qui ck decision. capitalistic leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do their work, and how they set their deadlines.They provide support with resources and advice if needed, but otherwise they dont get involved. This indecorum can lead to high job satisfaction, but it can be damaging if team members dont manage their time well, or if they dont have the knowledge, skills, or egotism motivation to do their work in force(p)ly. (Laissez-faire leadership can also occur when managers dont have control over their work and their people.) Lewins framework is popular and useful, because it encourages managers to be less(prenominal) autocratic than they might instinctively be.The Blake-Mouton Managerial GridThe Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid was published in 1964, and it highlights the best leadership style to use, based on your come to for your people and your concern for production/tasks.With a people-oriented leadership style, you focus on organizing, supporting, and de veloping your team members. This participatory style encourages good teamwork and originative collaboration.With task-oriented leadership, you focus on acquiring the job done. You define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work.According to this model, the best leadership style to use is one that has both a high concern for people and a high concern for the task it argues that you should aim for both, rather than trying to offset one against the other. Clearly, this is an important ideaThe Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership TheoryFirst published in 1969, the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory argues that you need to use different leadership styles depending on the maturity of your team members. The model argues that with relatively immature individuals, you need a more(prenominal) directing approach, while with higher maturity people, you need a more participative or delegating leadership style.You can use thi s model in almost business situations, regardless of whether you want to build a new team or develop an existing one.Path-Goal TheoryYou may also have to think some what your team members want and need. This is where Path-Goal Theory published in 1971 is useful.For example, highly-capable people, who are assigned to a complex task, will need a different leadership approach from people with low ability, who are assigned to an ambiguous task. (The former will want a participative approach, while the latter need to be told what to do.)With Path-Goal Theory, you can determine the best leadership approach to use, based on your peoples needs, the task that theyre doing, and the environment that theyre working in.Six Emotional Leadership miensDaniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee detailed their Six Emotional Leadership Styles possibleness in their 2002 book, Primal Leadership.The theory highlights the strengths and weaknesses of six leadership styles that you can use Vi sionary, Coaching, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, and Commanding. It also shows how each style can affect the emotions of your team members.Flamholtz and Randles Leadership Style MatrixFirst published in 2007, Flamholtz and Randles Leadership Style Matrix shows you the best leadership style to use, based on how capable people are of working autonomously, and how creative or programmable the task is.The matrix is divided into four quadrants each quadrant identifies two possible leadership styles that will be effective for a habituated situation, ranging from autocratic/benevolent autocratic to consensus/laissez-faire.Transformational LeadershipThese leadership style frameworks are all useful in different situations, however, in business, transformational leadership is often the most effective leadership style to use. (This was first published in 1978, and was then further developed in 1985.)Transformational leaders have integrity and high emotional experience . They motiva te people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. Theyre also typically self-aware , authentic , empathetic , and humble .Transformational leaders inspire their team members because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict-resolution skills . This leads to high productivity and engagement.However, leadership is not a one size of it fits all thing often, you must adapt your approach to fit the situation. This is why its useful to develop a thorough understanding of other leadership frameworks and styles after all,the more approaches youre familiar with, the more flexible you can be.Specific Leadership StylesAs well as understanding the frameworks that you can use to be a more effective leader, and knowing what it takes to be a transformational leader, its also useful to learn about more general leadership styles, and the advantages and disadvantages of each one .Lets take a look at some other leadership styles that are interesting, but dont fit with any of the frameworks above.