Types Of Leadership: The 5 Most Common Types Of Leaders
There are different types of leadership in the work environment, and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages It is normal that this is the case, given that one of the keys to the ability to lead teams consists of knowing how to adapt to the context and not trying to apply predetermined “formulas”, as if they were all going to work independently of the company in which one works.
Leaders are given certain preconditions, many of which are beyond the control of the person who leads groups or departments. This creates a diversity of opportunities and risks when it comes to leading teams, that is, work niches in which you have to know how to fit.
In this article we will review the main types of leadership, the different styles in which we can adopt a leadership role, seeing their distinctive characteristics.
The most important types of leadership (explained and with examples)
In the world of organizations there are rarely recipes that work for all jobs, companies and teams alike, given that what works and what doesn’t depends largely on context However, knowing these types of leadership helps guide you through these issues.
The company culture, the objectives pursued or the personality of the employees, among other factors, determine which leadership style best fits the company. Within some organizations, different leadership styles even coexist depending on the tasks or objectives that must be met.
Thus, as everything depends on the context in which we find ourselves, if we want to make the most of the possibility of having a good leader at the head of a team or organization, first of all it is necessary to know the types of leadership, since There is no one that is clearly superior to the others.
It is important to understand that the style or type of leadership exercised by supervisors or senior managers in the company will always have consequences on the workers, even if we do not realize it or confuse these effects with the intrinsic personality of each person. Being clear about this is key, since Leaders are agents who, by their decision power are in a privileged position when it comes to influencing others, for better or worse.
The fact that we have been in the same organization for many years and have always seen the same people behaving in the same way does not mean that this range of behaviors cannot be modified: varying the type of leadership can bring about very different work and relationship dynamics, and in This change of mentality will involve a large part of the organization.
A type of positive leadership can improve employee performance, their well-being or increase the company’s profits. On the contrary, a negative or harmful style can create stress or burnout in subordinates, lower their self-esteem or cause losses for the company.
There have been many researchers who have paid attention to this phenomenon and there are many theories that talk about it. Below, we present the most common types of leadership
1. Laissez-faire leadership
The kind of laissez-faire leadership also know as delegated leadership , it is a style of non-intervention and lack of regular feedback. The name refers to the French word “let pass” or “let it be.”
The laissez-faire leader intervenes only when necessary and with the least amount of control possible. It is a non-authoritarian style that is based on the theory that employees with a lot of experience, training and motivation need less supervision to be productive. Since these workers are experts and have the skills to perform independently, they are able to accomplish tasks with very little supervision.
We have an example of this type of leadership in the leader of the art department of a video game production company; Given the creative nature of the project, decides to adopt a very flexible metal approach to the artists’ proposals and only supervises them as strictly necessary ensuring that they are clear about the themes and values that the game should transmit, the general aesthetics of the world that they want to build, the deadlines for each development, and checking that there is correct communication between the members of the team and between it and the rest the departments.
Advantages
For some employees, autonomy is liberating, improves creativity and helps them feel more satisfied with the work they do. This type of leadership can be used in situations where subordinates are Passionate and highly intrinsically motivated
On the other hand, sometimes this type of leadership allows people who are more specialized in their work or who provide greater added value not to be constrained by formalities and excessive organizational rigidity and to do what they do best.
Disadvantages
It must be taken into account that Not all employees have these characteristics This style is not appropriate when working with employees who do not possess the above competencies. Many people are not good at assigning their own deadlines, managing their own tasks, and solving problems that may arise. In other words, they have a much more passive work style in which everything depends on them having very specific instructions and, in situations of ambiguity, they do not have to apply common sense or they tend to work less while waiting for more information. .
In these situations, projects or deadlines may not be met when group members are not properly managed or do not benefit from the feedback appropriate.
Many studies seem to show that the laissez-faire type of leadership can lead to a lack of control an increase in the company’s costs and poor productivity, sacrificing everything for the possibility of having a good work environment in the short term (in the long term the problems arising from lack of performance take a toll on the organizational climate).
2. Autocratic leadership
He autocratic leadership It allows supervisors to make decisions and set guidelines without the participation of the group. That is, in this type of leadership, power is something explicit, which is reflected in a role in which direct orders are given and which must be obeyed in any case.
The leader concentrates all the power and no one challenges their decisions It is a unidirectional leadership exercise, the only thing subordinates have to do is obey the guidelines set by the leader.
We have an example of this type of leadership in a person who, heading a clothing design team, must ensure that new products and Constantly check if you are working at a good pace reviews even the smallest detail of what is done to be sure that the new developments are sufficiently different from those of previous weeks, and from one day to the next it allows itself to impose new criteria to adapt as soon as possible to market trends .
Advantages
It can be effective in work environments in which decisions need to be made quickly and in which there is a perception of high hostility or high risk coming from outside, so it is not surprising that it is widely used in military organizations. It also appears to be highly effective with employees who require close monitoring of activities, since by eliminating workers’ tendency to relax, it can increase productivity and speed of tasks.
The disadvantages of the autocratic leader are evident. Does not take into account the opinion of workers and employees are simply people who must follow orders, so you can reach a point where there is no flexibility, since no one wants to be held responsible for not following instructions even in cases where the context changes and makes them not very suitable.
Furthermore, under the application of this type of leadership, some employees may feel undervalued and tend to show little emotional commitment to the company, potentially leaving the company or performing less.
For all this, it is a leadership style that, little by little, is being banished from leading companies, in which adaptability and the need to react quickly to changes are important, in addition to offering a good work environment in which possible to retain talent.
3. Democratic leadership
Usually called participatory leadership this type of leadership is characterized by creating enthusiasm among workers by prioritizing participation of the whole group and, furthermore, it is not assumed in advance that team members will behave selfishly, but rather the idea is promoted that everyone is rowing in the same direction. The leader promotes dialogue among his followers to take into account the opinions of the group, but the final decision is made by the superior.
An example of this type of leadership can be seen in the case of a content editorial team for dissemination videos on YouTube: as the leader is not an expert in all the topics covered by each video, he allows himself to be advised by the specialists involved in the project, ask key questions in meetings and suggest ideas to see if the rest of the team views them favorably or foresees problems with a certain approach, narrative structure or approach.
Advantages
This type of leader wins over the team because employees contribute to the decision process. Therefore, employees usually feel like part of the company and the changes that may occur in the organization, improving their affiliation and commitment to the company, as well as their productivity and capacity for innovation. In this way, for example, it gives more incentives to stay in the organization, making it easier to retain talent.
Disadvantages
Although there is a certain consensus when it comes to stating that this type of leadership has many advantages, some researchers think that it also has its disadvantages. For example, many times disagreements between two or more parts of the group cannot be overcome or the path to reaching a goal is slower, compared to other leadership styles. Furthermore, this type of leadership requires that the leader possess great ability to maintain motivation and collaboration of those who follow him, as well as complete confidence in himself. Otherwise, the balance of a group of individuals could be broken.
4. Transactional leadership
He transactional leadership is based on transactions, that is, on exchange processes between leaders and their followers Followers receive rewards for their job performance and the leader benefits because they complete tasks. Therefore, the type of leaders who use this way of energizing teams and groups promote a very pragmatic vision of work that focuses only on goals that can be monitored and measured objectively.
An example of transactional leadership is the head of a programming department who creates competition dynamics in which teams are formed and must compete by developing a code that solves a problem in the most efficient way possible, so that in the end the group winner receives a financial prize.
Advantages
It is a type of leadership goal oriented and, therefore, followers are motivated with rewards for the results achieved. The transactional leader creates clear structures, where what is required of his subordinates and the rewards they will receive are well defined. Therefore, this type of leadership focuses on objective aspects and easily recognizable units of analysis, with which it is relatively simple to operate.
The follower profile of the transactional leader is a rational individual, motivated by money and other benefits or rewards, whose behavior is fairly predictable Transactional leaders focus on the present and are very good at keeping the organization running smoothly and efficiently. However, although transactional leadership involves following certain rules and works very well in moments of stability in the changing world we find ourselves in today, where the success of companies often depends on continuous changes, there are more effective leadership styles.
5. Transformational leadership
Transformational leaders use high levels of communication to achieve the objectives and provide a vision of change that they manage to transmit to employees. They are committed to generating a shared and transversal vision about what the company in which they work should be.
Advantages
This is one of the types of leadership that provides greater flexibility to the operation of companies. In this way, leaders who work from this philosophy motivate and increase the productivity and efficiency of the group. They have a very broad vision of the work to be done, thanks to which they lead change within the organization and are capable of change team expectations, perceptions and motivations
When these leaders and their followers work together, they reach a higher level of morale and motivation. The key is in the impact they have on the followers, since These leaders earn their trust, respect and admiration
Disadvantages?
Transformational leadership, instead of analyzing and controlling specific transactions using rules, instructions, and incentives, focuses on intangible qualities, such as vision, shared values and ideas with the purpose of creating relationships, giving greater meaning to independent activities and offering a shared vision that allows us to function together with followers in the change process.
This emphasis on the work environment can become counterproductive in crisis situations in which it is necessary to react quickly to a crisis that can collapse the organization in the short term, in a matter of weeks.
However, at the same time, there are not many contexts in which it is better to sacrifice long-term prosperity for short-term results. That means that many companies and organizations that They veto the entry of new leaders based on transformational leadership They thus assume a high opportunity cost: they grow less than they could; and this is something that in many cases they are not even able to detect.
Adapting forms of leadership to the organizational context
We must not lose sight of the fact that there is no type of leadership that is universally good or preferable. Organizations are characterized by their complexity, and that is why changes of many kinds can occur in them and at different paces, which is why you have to know how to adapt to the demands of the moment; This also depends on the way in which it is led, the way in which the roles are distributed, etc.
What is true in all cases is that a leader is not a leader by virtue of holding a position: leadership is exercised, not inherited through what is put on an organizational chart.
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