Modes of Leadership

In today's business world, the best companies are looking for strong, knowledgeable leaders who can rally the staff and press on doggedly despite the challenges of a weakened economy. However, these leaders are so often far and in between, simply because few individuals take the time to analyze their own personal leadership style and research the countless modes of leadership that exist to improve their own leadership skills. In the end, any individual can increase his/her effectiveness as a leader merely by familiarizing himself/herself with common styles of leadership and by remembering when and how these styles are most useful. To assist you in the development of your own personal leadership skills, I will outline three popular leadership modes: (1) transactional leadership, (2) participative leadership, and (3) visionary leadership.

Transactional Leadership

Since I am most familiar with transactional leadership, I decided to begin my research with this leadership model. First, transactional leadership places most of the importance on the leader in the leader/follower relationship (Maslennikova, 2007). Essentially, transactional leadership is much like it sounds. Followers are lead through a continuous flow of transactions between leader and follower. Leaders communicate what they want and determine what it will take for their followers to meet these goals. All responsibilities are clearly stated and a standard set of rewards and punishments for fulfilling or failing in these duties is given, so every person will be doing exactly what is necessary to reach the set goals. As a result, transactional leadership works best with short-term endeavors or easy, everyday duties. This leadership mode has numerous advantages. However, one crucial advantage of transactional leadership is its clearly stated expectancies and its rewards/punishment system promote cohesiveness and efficiency within the workplace by preventing the majority of errors and employee inequality. Also, its rewards/punishment system can be an effective means to motivate employees since they continuously know exactly how their efforts in the workplace will be treated. Regardless of these advantages, however, transactional leadership has disadvantages. For instance, since this leadership model values employee compliance and a highly structured environment, it often cannot encourage employee creativity or innovation. Moreover, this employee compliance can further cause problems for an organization by straining the leader/follower relationship if the follower does not agree with the leader's ideas or methods (Maslennikova, 2007; Homrig, 2001).

Participative Leadership

Another valuable leadership style is participative leadership. In contrast to transactional leadership, it emphasizes the importance of the follower in the leader/follower relationship. Participative leadership strives to encourage teamwork within the workplace, as well as to utilize the unique talents, skills, and knowledge of each individual to not only better the organization but also the individual himself/herself. Finally, this leadership style feels that each member of the organization should have the opportunity to directly shape their company on a regular basis, encouraging such participation as feedback and innovative ideas. Since open communication between leader and follower can be time consuming, participatory leadership is more effective in situations when deadlines are not looming. Yet, this open communication and active participation makes it ideal for promoting creativity and innovative ideas among employees (Maslennikova, 2007). Participative leadership's advantages include (1) leaders have a virtually endless well of knowledge and experience upon which to make more informed decisions and (2) the more employees feel they can affect their company the more loyal and committed they tend to be. Unfortunately, though, participative leadership can be a complete disaster if a leader seeks too much feedback or suggestions when a hasty decision must be made and if followers are not accustomed to such an open leader/follower relationship or active role within the company (Maslennikova, 2007; Nahavandi, 2009).

Visionary Leadership

The final leadership mode I wish to discuss is visionary leadership. Visionary leadership is all about flexibility and adaptability (Nahavandi, 2009). The ever-changing face of business makes both of these characteristics a must in today's world (Dwivedi, 2006). As such, visionary leadership works hard to develop a strong vision that can appeal to everyone, drawing individuals together to operate as a unified team for the betterment of the organization. Although cohesive teamwork is an important aspect of visionary leadership, leaders train their employees to also be able to work independently, so the follower can also lead if necessary (Nahavandi, 2009). Since visionary leadership seeks to unify all members with a shared vision that can supersede differences and develop leaders from followers, this mode of leadership can be invaluable when organizational change is necessary or unavoidable. One benefit of visionary leadership is it offers a strong, constant reminder of what employees can look forward to in the future, allowing them to stay focused and dedicated in the present, even in difficult circumstances (Dwivedi, 2006). Furthermore, it often can bridge large differences and find unity through shared responsibility (Nahavandi, 2009). Nevertheless, this approach to leadership can wreak havoc within an organization if poorly executed. For example, a vision is only as effective as its ability to appeal to and to continuously hold the attention of the follower. Thus, unless a visionary leader creates a relatable vision and constantly and comprehensively communicates this vision to his/her followers, it will result in failure (Dwivedi, 2006).

In conclusion, these leadership modes are only three examples of the vast array of leadership styles out there. The possibilities are endless, and there is no one single leadership style that fits each and every situation or follower. Consequently, to be a successful leader, one must learn to be flexible and adapt one's personal leadership style to best fit the circumstances, as well to continuously study new leadership approaches to gradually evolve into a more and more effective leader.

References

Dwivedi, R. S. (2006, July-September). Visionary leadership: A survey of literature and case study of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam at DRDL. VISION-The Journal of Business Perspective, 10(3), 11-21. Retrieved October 7, 2009, from Business Source Premier database.

Homrig, Mark A. (2001, December 21). Transformational leadership. Retrieved October 7, 2009, from Air University Web site: http://leadership.au.af.mil/documents/homrig.htm

Maslennikova, L. (2007). Leader-centered versus follower-centered leadership styles. Leadership Advance Online, 11. Retrieved October 7, 2009, from Regent University, School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship Web site: http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/lao/issue_11/maslennikova.htm

Nahavandi, A. (2009). The art and science of leadership (5^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.