Leadership styles are those behavior patterns exhibited by leaders as they influence, motivate, and direct their followers. They include the authoritative positions and planning of leaders necessary to ensure not only that objectives are achieved but also that stakeholder expectations and the health of their team are taken care of.
These styles have been researched widely with an eye toward identifying those deemed tall enough or the most effective in motivating others toward the accomplishment of established goals. The central tenet behind a style of effective leadership is the presence or absence of trust among followers of their leader.
Research has shown that once followers trust their leader, they are capable of following through with a leader’s commands beyond what is expected. In doing so, they would attain specified goals, albeit with unhampered freedom to air their ideas and recommendations regarding the direction of their projects.
These leadership styles will evaluate the research-studies and findings of several distinguished leadership researchers, led by Robert K. Greenleaf, Karl Lewis, Daniel Goleman, Bruce Avolio, and Bernard M. Bass.
Why Does Leadership Style Matter?
A leader’s penchant or idiosyncratic name is usually a compound of his or her personality traits, life experiences, emotional intelligence, family dynamics, and style of thinking. Hence, the leader needs to recognize themself as a leadership style in the context of the foregoing characteristics and draw out the way forward to becoming even more effective.
An effective leadership style is almost completely an act of leadership. Hence, much important is a leader’s habit of taking the lead among knowing whether the circumstances require an executive or consultative approach to a problem, or not.
Finally, it goes without saying that a leader must know what leadership style is most suitable for an organization or in a given situation to achieve its tasks.
