There are three styles of leadership:
- Autocratic
- Participative
- Free-Rein
The major problem that you want to avoid, no matter which style you use, is to balance participation and decisiveness.
As an employee, which type do you prefer to be lead by? Almost no one would choose to have an autocratic leader, or would you?
Autocratic leaders are authoritarian. They simply tell others what to do.
This can be favorable when the main idea is to accomplish goals. You would be happy with this style if you loathe ambiguity and would prefer to receive direct orders from your leader. Some of these leaders choose to lead directly while providing positive rewards to the people who successfully follow their lead. I don't see anything wrong with that.
However, there are some leaders who think their employees are incapable of giving constructive input. This creates an environment where the leader feels they have to direct all the efforts of their associates, and the associates are afraid to provide their own input. In this case, morale and enthusiasm is negatively affected for the employee. This style can also hinder the individual's growth and development because they are dependent on their leader.
Participative leaders involve their team to take part in the decision-making process. A healthy interaction between the supervisor and the employees is created in this case. You shouldn't assume that the leaders aren't making decisions, because they actually do with this style. The participative leader will choose to be inclusive and inform all effected members of a new decision and will even ask for their input. Everyone likes to feel that their opinions are being heard, so this style is great in that aspect.
The drawbacks to this approach seem to be relative to the individuals' opinions. There may be some employees that oppose this style because they feel a leader who must consult with the seemingly uneducated workers is ill-equipped for the job. This is only an opinion, but some employees will pass judgment on their supervisors as a result. This approach can be tricky at times. Especially when the leader wants to incorporate their employees' decisions, but find that they are actually uneducated. This would mean that the leader would have to continue forward with a bad decision or be forced to retract the decision. A new decision would then be made after overriding the group's decision. No one really wants their idea tossed aside for a better one, but this would happen and disappoint some employees. Hopefully, they would want to continue participating in the future.
Free-Rein leaders lack direct leadership and their team members work out their own techniques. How will the team's goals be accomplished? This type of leader acts as a liaison, at times, between the employees and outsiders. Some people would benefit from having this type of leader. It really depends and is relative to the situation. Certain professionals need to be the main decision-maker to avoid confusion during their workday. The ability to decide what you will do and when you will do it is quite empowering.
I would have to say that at this point in my life; I would prefer to have a free-rein leader. This is not to say that it is the best style. It all depends. I would not think that a new employee at a financial institution should be given free-rein to make decisions alone. I would not even think that a leader should choose a style and stick to it throughout their entire career. With each new situation and each addition to the group, the dynamics are affected. Each leader and group member should be learning and constantly growing. Do you plan on having an uneventful or predictable career, or do you expect to go through different phases and changes? I think each employee and each supervisor will change their styles according to different situations that arise. It simply depends on what goals need to be accomplished.
