What is Leadership?

What is Leadership?

"Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that wouldn't have happened otherwise." - Unknown

• A leader can be the CEO of an organization, or a first year employee who leads his or her team to success. A leader might lead through official authority and power, yet just as often great leaders lead through inspiration, persuasion and personal connections.

Leadership is described as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in accomplishment of common task. Leadership is organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. The leader may or may not have any formal authority, but studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behaviour, power, vision and values, and intelligence.

Types of Leadership

Autocratic:

Autocratic leadership, also known as authoritarian leadership, is a leadership style characterized by individual control. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their own ideas and judgements and rarely accept advice from followers. Autocratic leadership can be beneficial in some instances, such as when decisions need to be made quickly without consulting with a large group of people. The downsides of a Autocratic leadership style are often viewed as bossy, controlling, and dictatorial which can lead to resentment among group members.

Characteristics of Autocratic Leadership:

• Little or no input from group members.
• Leaders make the decisions.
• Group leaders dictate all the work methods and processes.
• Group members are rarely trusted with decisions or important tasks.

Democratic:
Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, it is a type of leadership style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision making process. Democratic  leadership is the most effective and a lead to higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale. Benefits of Democratic  leaderships, because group members are encouraged to share their thoughts, Democratic  leadership can lead to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems. Democratic leadership has also its downsides, where in situations, where roles are unclear or time is of the essence, Democratic  leadership can lead to communication failures and uncompleted projects.
Characteristics of Democratic Leadership:

• Group members are encouraged to share ideas and opinions, even though the leader retains the final say over decisions.
• Members of the group feel more engaged in the process.
• Creativity is encouraged and rewarded.

Bureaucratic:

Bureaucratic leadership skills are necessary when working on a group project for a science class. Precision key in a science project, and meticulous notes are essential. A natural Bureaucratic leader will tend to create detailed instructions for other members of a group. This type of leader would also be very successful working in student government roles.

Laissez-Faire:
Laissez-Faire leadership, is a type of leadership style in which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to make the decisions. Benefits of Laissez-Faire  leadership can be effective in situations where group members are highly skilled, motivated and capable of working on their own. The downsides of Laissez-Faire leadership is not ideal in situations where group members lack the knowledge or experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions.
Characteristics of Laissez-Faire Leadership:

• Very little guidance from leaders.
• Complete freedom for followers to make decisions.
• Leaders provide the tools and resources needed.
• Group members are expected to solve problems on their own.

Business is less about management and more about leadership. To what extent is this statement true?

Leadership is really important for businesses. If a business focuses more onto management rather than leadership, it will have it's very own downsides and benefits. If business companies/organisations were to focus and abide strict management rules, the negative effects will overcome the positive effects instead. Business are to have a balance between management and leadership to have stable, highly motivated and committed employees.

References:
Sourcesofinsight.com. 2013. Lessons Learned from Bill Gates : Sources of Insight. [online] Available at: http://sourcesofinsight.com/lessons-learned-from-bill-gates/ [Accessed: 27 Sep 2013].
Vectorstudy.com. 2013. Types of Leadership. [online] Available at: http://vectorstudy.com/management-topics/types-of-leadership [Accessed: 27 Sep 2013].

Ask.com. 2013. Bureaucratic Leadership?. [online] Available at: http://www.ask.com/question/bureaucratic-leadership [Accessed: 27 Sep 2013].