Leadership Theory

• Different leadership styles include: Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez-faire, Paternalistic.
• The Blake Mouton Grid analyses different styles based on the leaders’ concern for people and concern for the task.
• There is a difference between leaders and managers, one sets strategy and vision and the other manages getting there.
• The leadership or management style may not be chosen, it may have to be adopted because of external or internal problems.
• Leaders need to know where the business is now, where it wants to go, and whether it's on course to get there.
• The data has to be reliable, timely, and relevant for decision-making.
• The Blake Mouton Grid identifies how ‘people orientated’ the leaders are or how ‘task orientated’ (having a high concern for production) they are.
• The Tannenbaum Schmidt continuum helps to identify who has the most input in decision-making – managers or staff.
• The Tannenbaum Schmidt continuum recognised that sometimes managers need to tell subordinates about decisions and sometimes subordinates can have a greater input to the decisions (to tell or to share).
• Management Style is influenced by the company structure, the situation, the company’s culture and tradition, the nature of the tasks, the employees themselves, the group size, the time-frame, and the personalities and skills of leaders.
• Consult is a management style where the manager presents an idea and invites feedback.
• Boss-centred leadership is when the manager makes decisions and announces them.
• Share is a management style where the manager presents a tentative decision that is subject to change and encourages feedback.
• The effectiveness of different styles of management and leadership depends upon the resources available, whether staff recognise the need for the decision or the change, and how much support for the decision is there within the board of directors.
• Sell is a management style where the manager sells decisions.
• Tell is a management style where the manager makes decisions and announces them.