Leadership Theories, Approaches, and Models - Essay Example

Reflective analysis of my leadership approaches There are many types of leadership approaches my leadership revolves mostly around; situational leadership, action centered leadership and the transformational leadership. I am team leader in a residential home of people with a learning disability, at my work place I employ the democratic leadership approach and use transformational approach of leadership in my church as a youth leader. This paper focuses on my leadership styles and how I deploy various types of leadership approaches and why the approaches are crucial in such situations. Situational leadership Situational leadership is a theory of leadership where the leaders change their leadership approach based on who they are leading. A principled leader should have the ability to change their leadership style as conditions change. In my case, I have to employ situational leadership in areas where I am a leader. At work, I am dealing with a group of people who have learning disabilities, and for that, I have to use democratic leadership style. In church am dealing with a group of youth followers, and for that, I employ the transformational leadership style. The main advantage of using this style of leadership is that when a leader adapts to a leadership style to the followers needs, work gets done, relationships are built, and the follower’s development level rises to a high level of competence and commitment (Blanchard, 2002 p20). Action-centered leadership style This is a leadership model developed by John Adair. It provides a blue print for leadership and management of any team, group or organization. It is a classic leadership and management model that makes it easy to remember, apply and adapt to your own situation. The model focuses on three main objectives of a leader; achieving the task, managing the team or group, managing individuals (Adair, 1999 p34). For example in church when we are given any task, I have to get familiar with the task myself so that I may be able to manage the others and help them understand the context of the task at hand. Democratic leadership style The democratic leadership style of leadership is remarkably an open style of managing a team. Ideas move freely within the group and then discussed openly. Everyone is welcome at the discussion, and the discussion is relatively free flowing. This style is needed in a dynamic rapidly changing environment (Glanz 54). This leadership approach calls for the leader facilitating the conversation and encouraging people to share their ideas. The leader and all the involved then synthesize the information and find the best possible decision (Blanchard, 2004 p45). In my work place, I interact with people who have learning disabilities. These people need to be motivated, and this can only be done by letting them speak their mind so that their ideas can be considered. This style of leadership is meant to bring out the best of a team by capitalizing on their skills and talents and letting them share their views (Glanz 56). People having learning disabilities cannot be able to express themselves well, so I put up group discussions where everyone is given enough time that they need to express themselves well. This has proven to be a very effective way of communication between us. This style of leadership has been of much help to me in my work place in the following ways; i. It results in high motivation of the students and the knowledge that I get from these students helps in decision making process. ii. The members of the residential home feel committed to the goals of the home, and they are less resistant to the managerial actions. iii. This mode of leadership helps in the developing of individual abilities through participation. iv. Since the individuals in the home suffer from learning disability, this leadership style teaches them that two minds are better than one and this comes in handy with this people. Transformational leadership This is a leadership style that leads to positive changes to those who follow. The leaders are enthusiastic, energetic and passionate people; they are concerned, involved and focused on helping every member of the group. As the youth leader, in my church, I have a duty of guiding the other youth members (Bass, 2000 p89). A good example of this, in my capacity as a youth leader, is that my job involves constant motivation and encouragement of the other youths who are in my group, to keep their faith in God. I have to get concerned with their problems to see that they have a leader who cares for them, and who is focused on helping every individual in the group. There are four different components of transformational leaders; i. Intellectual stimulation-a transformational leader not only challenges the status quo, but encourages creativity among the followers, the leader inspires the followers to find new opportunities to learn and explore new ways of doing things ii. Individual consideration- This leadership style involves offering support and encouragement to individual followers. They keep their lines of communication open so that the followers can feel free to share their ideas and the leader can offer direct recognition of the followers each unique contribution (Glanz 45). iii. Inspirational motivation- Transformational leaders have a clear vision which they are able to articulate to their followers. The leader should help the followers experience the same passion and motivation to fulfill these goals. iv. Idealized influence- Transformational leaders serve as role models for the followers, the followers trust and respect the leader, and they follow the leader, and internalize his or her ideals. For me to be a potent youth leader, transformational leadership helps me in setting an excellent example to my followers and communicating my goals clearly to them. Being able to influence and inspire people to think differently, and pay attention to their needs is an excellent way for a youth leader to behave. If I have compelling content, integrity and I can present a case for change with enough enthusiasm to inspire the youth, then I am more likely to win them over. Conclusion Situational leadership helps me in adapting to the task given so that I can accomplish and get the best results possible, in my work place the situational model of leadership calls for me to adapt to the situation and apply my democratic leadership style. This style of leadership helps me in understanding the needs of the people, who have learning disabilities by letting them speak out their minds. In church, I have to guide all the other youth group members in the right direction, by applying my transformational leadership style. I am capable of setting admirable example to my followers and thereby able to complete the task placed upon me. The different styles of leadership all have the appropriate times or situations when they can be applied for best results. This paper has explored the different leadership styles and advantages of each. Works cited Adair J. Action-centred leadership. Farnborough: Gower Pr., 1999. Bass B.M. Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact. Routledge: Boston, 2000. Blanchard K.H., Zigarmi P., Zigarmi D.,. Leadership and the one minute manager. London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2004. Blanchard. Situational Leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002. Daft R.L., Lane P.G.,. The leadership experience. Mason: Thomson/South-Western, 2008. Derr C.B., Roussillon S., Bournois F.,. Cross-cultural approaches to leadership development. Westport: Quorum Books, 2002. Glanz J. Finding your leadership style:A guide for educators. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2002. Grint K. Leadership : classical, contemporary, and critical approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Hacker S., & Tammy R.,. Transformational leadership : creating organizations of meaning. Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press, 2004. Lussier R.N., Achua C.F.,. Leadership : theory, application, skill development. Australia: SouthWestern/Cengage Learning, 2010. Northouse P.G. Leadership : theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2010. Pride W.M., Hughes R.J., Kapoor J.R.,. Business. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Read More