The document discusses 5 effective leadership styles: [1] Participative leadership which seeks input from team members and allows them to develop skills but the leader makes final decisions; [2] Relations oriented leadership which emphasizes organizing and supporting teams through collaboration; [3] Transformational leadership which inspires shared vision through value-enhancing initiatives as demonstrated by leaders like Mandela and Lincoln; [4] Charismatic leadership which inspires above-par performance through a leader who is universally respected and admired like Gandhi; [5] Autocratic leadership which wields absolute power without input but can lower morale. The ideal leader may combine styles to achieve goals.

1. 5 Effective leadership styles
“Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands
still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the
better.” – Harry S. Truman
Leadership is defined as the ability to lead and motivate people to achieve a desired goal. Leaders with
great people management skills are needed in all organizations. We look at some of the effective
leadership styles.
Participative leadership: In this leadership style, opinions are sought from all team members.
The team members get better job satisfaction and get an opportunity to develop their
leadership skills. This process takes a longer time as compared to other effective leadership
styles but the outcome is relatively better. This kind of leadership style makes every employee
feel appreciated, be in control of his/her destiny and highly motivated. However, it is important
to remember even in this leadership style, the leader makes the final decision. Participative
leadership is suitable when high levels of quality are needed in the product or service. The
United States Congress is a good instance of participative leadership.
Relations oriented leadership: The leader lays special emphasis on organizing, supporting, and
enhancing the people in their teams. The most important point being creative collaboration and
excellent teamwork. Google is a company which has successfully implemented this very
effective leadership style.
Transformational leadership: This is one of the top notch leadership styles. In this, the leader
consistently inspires the team members with a shared vision of the future. The stress is on value
enhancing initiatives. Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln are examples of great
transformational leaders. Mandel led a revolution against the culture of apartheid in South
Africa. Lincoln successfully united the various states of America by leading his men to victory in
the American Civil War.
Charismatic leadership:
The charisma of the leader is the driving force which inspires all team members to deliver
above par performance. The leader is universally respected and admired. Charismatic
leaders invoke the trust of their followers. Mahatma Gandhi is a great example of a
charismatic leader who inspired an entire nation to successfully fight for independence.
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2. Autocratic leadership: Here the leader wields absolute power and does not listen to his
subordinates. This style is suitable for unskilled jobs or fighting wars. The advantage of this
leadership style is a greater degree of control as compared to other effective leadership styles.
However, this style is resented by employees particularly in the corporate sector. It lowers the
self esteem and morale of workers; hence, it can be counterproductive at times. Napoleon
Bonaparte is an example of autocratic leadership.
The ideal leader may have to use a combination of the various effective leadership styles to achieve the
desired objective.
Which leadership style do you consider effective for your organization?
"Maya Pillai is passionate about helping small businesses and professionals. She is a blogger
for Apptivo's Small Business University."
© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.