Effective Leadership Styles

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to be.

Bringing unity and coherence to a group of people is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks, which require effective leadership qualities. Be it politics, business or even sports, leaders are required in any situation that calls for a joint effort. Every leader has his / her own unique leadership style. Broadly speaking, there can be several effective leadership styles, which can incorporated into a business.

Director's Approach

This leadership style is somewhat authoritarian in its approach since the leader has a specific goal in mind and directs the team towards the goal according to his plan of action. The leader identifies the requirements of the situation and creates a plan to handle the situation. The leader is completely in charge of division of work and specifically assigns roles for each and every team member. The leader has the final word on all the decisions and rarely asks for suggestions from the team members. The leader, who uses a director's approach for leading a team, usually supervises and evaluates the work of every individual.

The Coaching Style

This leadership style involves more mutual interaction of the leader and the team. In this style, the leader sets the goals and identifies the problems, however the leader consults with his team members and encourages a healthy dialog to facilitate exchange of ideas that can be beneficial for the team as a whole. The leader usually arrives at the decisions after having consulted the team members. This style displays more respect for individual opinions since the leader is more considerate towards the team members. The leader tends to encourage and appreciate the efforts of his team and constantly provides encouragement for the team by inculcating a sense of team spirit. The leader evaluates the performance of the leaders.

The Facilitating Approach

This is a more flexible leadership style in which the leader allows the team members to be a part of almost every process starting from the role-delegation, goal setting, problem solving as well as the evaluation and overview. The leader acts more like a facilitator who inspires the team to reach their goal, by giving them a nudge every now and then. The leader tries to inculcate a sense of individual responsibility within every individual and hence creates an effective team that can function with minimum supervision.

The Delegating Approach

The delegating style is more democratic than any other styles of leadership. The employees and the leader are a part of every process. The leader empowers the team members and allows them to be a part of the planning and decision-making process and decide their own roles and responsibilities. The leader accepts the decisions of the team members, allows them to evaluate their own work. This sense of leadership tends to develop a team, which functions as a cohesive and responsible team.

There exists several effective leadership styles which are suited for various setups and organizations. The success of the team and the satisfaction of team members as a cohesive group are the two important related indicators of an effective leadership style.