Lewin's Leadership Styles

I recently learned that there are basically three different approaches or leadership styles.

1.    Authoritarian/Autocratic: Think of the Godfather. You work for him. He is the boss and you do what he tells you.

2.    Participative/Democratic: More Mufasa from Lion King. He offers clear guidance, but allows the tribe to have input and integrates their ideas and suggestions.

3.    Delegative/Laissez-Faire: Also called “Free-Reign”. When the leader leaves decisions up to the group.

Which one do you think you respond best to? Which one do you think you are? Which one do you think you should be?

Before we jump right to it, lets take a little look at the pros and cons of each.

 

Authoritarian:

Pros	Cons
Clear direction/ expectations	Little or no input from the group
Useful when timeliness is an issue	Followers become passive and do not take initiative
Good when the leader has more information or expertise	Can be seen as bossy or dictatorial
	Less creative and sometimes poorer performance

Participative:

Pros	Cons
Offers guidance	Followers are less productive
Allows for input from followers	Not very timely
Leaders retain final say
Higher quality outcomes
More creative, motivational & engaging

Delegative:

Pros	Cons
Group decision making	No clear guidance
Good when the followers are the experts	Least productive
	Followers can become aggressive, discontent or hostile
	Sometimes responsibility for the outcome may default to the group

Immediately after learning about these styles my mind automatically went to that participative must be the best. But after some thought, maybe not... Can you imagine the military being run in a participative style? What a mess that would be. Obviously authoritarian fits that situation much better. Or, if by some strange twist of fate, I led a team a brain surgeons. Obviously they would have more expertise in the area of “brain surgeon-y” things than I do, not being a surgeon myself. I guess the moral of the story here is that leaders have to use all three leadership styles depending on the situation to be effective. They will likely have a natural tendency towards one and need to become for comfortable with the others to become the best leaders they can be.

To help you determine which style you tend to be check out: http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl-leadershipquiz.htm

PS. Mine was particpative, what was yours?

Leadership Myths

Myths of Leadership (based on “306 Degree Leader” by John Maxwell)

1. the Position Myth: Leadership is a choice you make, not a place you sit

          Is there a co-worker who is your peer, or maybe even an employee, who you value and feel has contributed to your growth? Maybe that special someone is more of a leadership role model to you than the person who you report to based on the org chart. (Remember the management vs. leadership post in the last post J) .

2. the Destination Myth: when I get to the top, then I will learn to lead

          Could you just go out and run a marathon today? Probably not... it would take training right? Leadership is the same.

3. the Influence Myth: if I were on top, then people would follow me

          Ever had a boss who you couldn’t follow? The position just allows you the chance to lead. You still have to practise leadership over time to win people over.

4. the Inexperience Myth: when I get to the top, I’ll be in control

          Is the grass always greener on the other side? I think not. Moving up in the ranks presents its own set of new challenges. For example, do you think that big decision was truly made solely by your boss, or are there other factors at play such as his/her boss, other department decisions, outside influences.

5. the Freedom Myth: When I get to the top, I’ll no longer be limited

          Is the CEO really able to do whatever he/she wants? Of course not! Often the higher your rank in an organization, the more responsibility you have to more people. That doesn’t sound like freedom to me...    

6. the Potential Myth: I can’t reach my potential if I’m not the top leader

          Sounds a lot to me like “I could go to the gym/be more organized/eat healthier/etc. if I wanted to”. I believe you should try to be all you can be today without waiting for the perfect conditions (which likely won’t ever arise).

7. The All-or-Nothing Myth: if I can’t get to the top then I won’t lead

          Ever played board games/sports/etc. with someone who has an “If I can’t win, I won’t play” attitude? Leadership takes time, consistency and effort and if you’re not willing to try in out, maybe even have a few losses/failures, then how are you going to be successful when you get there?

I have to admit it, personally a lot of these things hit home for me while reading this book. I used to think that once I got to be a "insert whatever your dream title is here" then I would have it made. All my problems would dissapear and I would have achieved success. When considering these myths, they really started to make sense to me and I realized that what I really want is work towards is being a better me in my current role, obviously by growing my leadership skills, and have faith that the rest will follow. Life has a funny way of just working out sometimes don't you think?