We explain what types of leadership exist and the characteristics of authoritarian, charismatic, bureaucratic, democratic leadership and more.
What types of leadership are there?
When we talk about leadership, we mean the ability to lead others toward the fulfillment of a common goal that is, the ability to organize a group through the management of its human resources. This involves convening, guiding or managing, but also delegating, encouraging and promoting others.
Leadership is a highly desired capacity in the corporate, political and administrative world, given that the management of companies and work organizations is an area subject to great demands and in continuous adaptation to the technological, social and cultural environments of the time.
There are, therefore, different ways of exercising leadership, depending on the ways in which the leader or driver connects with others and manages their efforts. Below we will see which are the most common types and what are their respective characteristics.
See also: Administration
Authoritarian leadership
The authoritarian leader is one who exercises his authority in a despotic, tyrannical or simply inflexible manner. It is the traditional model of unquestionable authority, in which only the leader can make decisions of the organization, and these are final and definitive, without consulting them with the group, nor allowing the latter to question them.
In that sense, it is a model that does not make others feel included and is usually inefficient when it comes to motivating them, in addition to centralizing all decision-making power in the leader, which can cause delays and bottlenecks, or simply subjecting vital decisions to the whims of the manager.
An example of this type of leadership is that which occurs in the militia or military organizations, in which each step of the hierarchy is rigidly defined, and an order received must be obeyed without question. A model that is probably convenient for the battlefield, but not so much for other types of situations.
Charismatic leadership
A charismatic leader is one who “makes others fall in love” with his personality, that is, instead of imposing his will, as in the previous case, seduces those around him and motivates them to adopt his point of view. This is a mode of driving that is also largely dependent on the leader, although with a much greater capacity for motivation from those around him.
The big problem with this type of leadership is that the leaders end up believing more in themselves than in group work, and it makes them dependent on their presence, and the organization can collapse if the leader is not available.
An example of this type of leadership occurs very often in politics, where party leaders and candidates for public office dedicate their efforts and charisma to winning the popular vote. Once in power, however, the leadership model can change, when the charismatic leader has at his disposal other methods of leading the collective.
Bureaucratic leadership
The bureaucratic leader is a traditionalist, someone who always plays by the rules and follows the usual methods even when they prove to be ineffective.
It has the virtue of being a predictable leadership model, which does everything according to “the manual”, but which demonstrates a significant rejection of change, innovation and exceptions. Their leadership is not necessarily autocratic or charismatic, but very often they achieve power because that is what the rules establish.
An example of this type of leadership is that which reigns in public or state institutions, whose structure is rigid and its operation regular, accustomed, repetitive. Bureaucratic leaders pay more attention to paperwork, the system, and following rules than to the specific cases they must resolve. It is something that we have all experienced when carrying out a procedure.
Democratic or participatory leadership
The democratic or participatory leader is the one who listens the most and takes into account the opinions of others, that is, who understands himself as a spokesperson and a companion for the processes carried out by the members of the organization. Instead of being a leader of the group, he is a facilitator, a companion, someone to whom power is delegated so that he can exercise it to facilitate processes and optimize results.
This means that It is a flexible leadership model which pays more attention to particulars and each case, than to the regularity or structure of the system, which can often cause problems. However, it is a typically effective leadership model, to the extent that it can transform itself to meet the needs presented to the group.
An example of participatory leadership is that of a coach or personal trainer with his or her group of exercisers. The latter delegate authority to him because they trust his knowledge, but also because they expect him to take their needs into account and adapt the training plan to the unique achievements of each person, rather than to meet a group goal.
'Laissez-faire' leadership
The leader laissez-faire (from the French “let do”) is characterized by having a very loose rein, that is, by let the organization self-manage as much as possible, intervening only in extreme cases urgent or that merit some type of authority.
For the rest, the leader lets everyone make decisions and apply their own criteria, appearing only to correct or warn of future danger. This is the least intrusive leadership model possible, the one that most trusts in the autonomy of the group.
An example of this type of leadership can be found in the CEOs of young companies or “startups”, who, lacking an established method yet, and generally being made up of young and ambitious individuals, take advantage of individual efforts by allowing the Workers carry out the work in the way that works best for them, always within certain established parameters.
Strategic leadership
The strategic leader is a planner, a person endowed with a vision for the organization and a method to achieve it. This means that he is a leader who takes advantage of opportunities, without neglecting the stability of the organization.
Its vision is usually focused on growth, drive and motivation, for which it can use more or less participatory, more or less bureaucratic and more or less charismatic models, as needed. However, these leaders tend to be more committed to the general picture than to the particulars.
An example of strategic leadership is what is expected of an investment director of a company or business group, capable of planning investment models applicable to the entire organization, drawing up alliances and continually evaluating its resources, without dealing instead with issues of day by day.
Transactional leadership
A transactional leader is one who does not see the organization as much as its transactions, that is, who Links with his subordinates through the setting of specific goals in the short term, whose compliance rewards with some type of bonuses.
In this way, it is a leadership model that is based on individual or group motivation and in some way to foster a certain spirit of competition. The drawback is that it fosters a short-term culture in the group, which aspires to immediate rewards and is not as committed to the company's further vision.
An example of transactional leadership is sales area managers, who encourage their employees to fight for commission: whoever sells the most in a given month will receive a certain bonus. Many “employee of the month” campaigns pursue this logic.
Transformational leadership
A transformational leader is a leader committed to change and improvement, who is always looking to innovate, grow and improve in all possible aspects: labor, strategic, administrative, etc.
are ideal leaders for growth or transition phases such as business mergers, renewals, integrations or remodeling, as they are continually pushing the organization out of its comfort zone. Their drawback occurs when the organization takes a long time to reach the critical mass necessary for the change, or when the latter lasts much longer than it should, since they are not particularly patient or stable leaders.
An example of transformational leadership can be found in business coaches who are called (via outsourcing) to supervise critical moments of a company, such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Continue with: Difference between power and authority
References
- “Leadership” on Wikipedia.
- “Leadership” in the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “The 10 most used leadership styles” in the European School of Excellence.
- “The 8 most common leadership styles” in Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
