Why do some leadership styles work better than others?

The simple answer is that styles work when they are appropriate for the people being lead.

Leadership theory has a large number of names for styles of management – authoritarian, democratic, laisse- faire, participatory, directing, teamwork, autocratic, bureaucratic, charismatic, participative, people-oriented, relations-oriented, servant, task-oriented, transactional, and transformational.

The range of styles boils down to this:

• the level and degree of control a leader wants, prefers or feels she/he needs to have over the people being managed
• how much trust a leader has in the people being managed
• how much independence, freedom and influence over decision making and a leader is prepared to allow the people being managed

Every leader has their own natural style, the one they lean towards, prefer or will revert to in a crisis. That style is about the leader/manager/supervisor. It is about THEM – the leader and it defines THEM – the leader. A leader’s own style is what management theory is about.

However, those leaders who have extensive experience and practice in leading teams have proved that it is far more effective and therefore far more important to apply an appropriate leadership style to each employee – that may mean a different leadership style for each person being managed.

One leadership style does not fit all team members or employees. If a leader attempts to apply just his own one preferred style to a team of diverse people, he will fail to be an effective leader with a large proportion of the team.

It’s important for managers to know that in reality a manager should have as many styles of leadership as the types of employees they manage.

That’s very tough and demanding on the leaders/managers…but it’s a fact.

Ideally, each employee should be managed and lead according to their own particular aptitude, experience, abilities and personality.

Yes that’s right – if you’re a manager who manages and leads 12 people, you may need up to 12 adaptations of different leadership styles.

People work best within a leadership model which allows them to feel they have some power and control over their work. They also want to feel secure – that they have the support of their manager/leader when they want it and need it. People need appropriate goals to maintain motivation and sufficient success in their work to allow them to experience a feeling of challenge and achievement. People feel empowered by feeling they are in charge of their own development but secure in the back-up they have.

Let’s take 2 employees. The first, someone 43 years old, who has been with the company 8 years, a reliable worker, very experienced, has held similar jobs in 2 previous companies, an open-minded thinker with a positive attitude. The second an enthusiastic 21 year old, new graduate, been with the company one month, it’s their first job and they’ve shown great creativity and promise with their out-of-the-box thinking.

The leader/manager has a regular client who has approached the company for help on a new project which has to be planned and completed within 2 weeks.

A manager’s normal leadership style may be to give employees a job and say "just do it and come back to me when it’s all finished". What’s going to happen if a manager uses that style with both these employees?

One employee could really mess up and lose personal confidence.

With the older, experienced employee, a leadership style should allow them to use their skills and expertise – otherwise they will feel under-valued, frustrated and restricted. They are likely to want to bounce their ideas around with a leader/manager before making a suggestion to the client. Once a best option is agreed, a manager could then let the employee meet with the client, discuss the options, agree and formulate a plan. The leader may also be able to ask the employee to manage the project, checking in at pre-set, regular intervals and as the need arises.

The employee will feel valuable, appropriately stretched and will gain in confidence as the project unfolds. With a leader’s back up, the project will be successful and on time and the employee will feel pleased with the work. The leader/manager will have an employee who is fulfilled and highly motivated. Closely monitored and micro-managed, this employee with be stifled and will leave the company.

If a leader/manager asked the younger, less experience but imaginative employee to work unsupervised with the client without any checking in, there could be a disaster. The young employee may lose confidence and take months or years to recover it. However, a leader/manager could say "let’s think about some options together, then we’ll meet with and get agreement with the client. Then you can work with the client and report to me every afternoon on progress".

It’s likely that this employee will contribute great ideas, will gain in confidence, learn many skills in working alongside the leader with clients and quickly become a very valuable, creative thinking employee.

It’s argued that a leader’s role is to make a team of employees independent of the manager/leader – bring each person on according to ability, aptitude and personality. Only a leader or manager who is secure and confident in their own abilities and their own value to the company can do this. Over controlling leaders and managers may do well to examine their own insecurities and leadership style.