where the leader practices this style of
leadership may have low morale but may
be productive due to fear of being fired.
Other leaders practice the Country Club
Management. This is the opposite of
Authority-Compliance leaders and at
times called the Accommodating style of
leadership. They have very high concern
for people and very low concern for
production. They are more concerned with
the personal and social needs of followers,
how the followers feel and create a
positive work climate. They also yield and
comply and are very accommodating. They
enjoy informal grapevine. The assumption
of the leader is that if the employees are
happy and feel secure and the working
environment is relaxed, then the employees
will work hard.
We however know that this may not
always be the case. In organizations where
a leader uses this style of leadership, the
employees are extremely happy and you
will hear them saying our boss is really
good to us and will not punish you if
you don’t meet your targets. Such leaders
are overly liked by the employees since
they care less about the results. If the
employees are not checked or are like the
leader productivity in such organizations
will be very low.
The third leadership style is the
Impoverished Management. This is the
worst style of leadership where the leader
has very low concern about people as
well as productivity. Such a leader doesn’t
care much about the employees nor the
organization. They delegate and disappear
and have no commitment for their work.
Some leaders practice what is commonly
known as Laissez-faire leadership style.
It’s a passive style of leadership where
leaders make very few decisions and
leave the employees to make work place
appropriate decisions. They don’t supervise
the employees/process but they instead
trust that the employees will work on their
own.
The Laissez-faire leadership style may
work well where the employees like work,
are highly competent, and committed to
achieving objectives. It also works where
employees accept and seek responsibility.
This leadership style allows the employees
to become more innovative boosting
their morale and overall productivity.
However if used in organizations where
In the absence of
leadership an or-
ganization expe-
riences either a
drift or a detach-
ment. A drift is
where the orga-
nization is sailing
without a rudder.
A detachment on
the other hand is
a psychological
state where the
employees
lack
any deep commit-
ment and instead
just go through
the motions.
the employees are incompetent and lack
commitment then the organization will
rarely survive and employees will rarely
come to work.
The fourth style is the Middle-of-the-
Road Management style where the leader
has a balanced concern for production
and people. The leaders are compromisers,
avoid conflicts and they emphasize
moderate levels of production. The leaders
are carrot and stick experts and are status
quo leaders. Their aim is to balance
between work and employee needs. The
performance of such employees and
ultimately the organization is normally
average.
The final type of leadership style is Team
Management. Leaders who practice
this style of leadership have both high
concerns for people as well as production.
The leaders stimulate participation among
employees and determine the acts. They
also make priorities clear and have an
open-mind. This type of leadership style
aims at creating a productive and a good
working environment. Every leader should
work towards achieving this leadership
style.
The other leadership approaches include
the Situational/Contingency Approaches
and the Modern approaches which will
be discussed in another issue. There is
no one best style of leadership for all
organizations. The leader should always
seek to know the leadership style that
suits them best and what works best in
their industry. The leader should also
consider what leadership style best suits
the team members.
In the absence of leadership an
organization experiences either a drift
or a detachment. A drift is where the
organization is sailing without a rudder.
A detachment on the other hand is a
psychological state where the employees
lack any deep commitment and instead
just go through the motions.
You know you are in drift or have
detachment when members of the
organization cannot visualize what the
leader wants and what the leader believes.
The employees cannot identify any of the
priorities of the organization.
In conclusion, understand who you are
for you have to lead yourself first before
others. Next understand the people you
lead and adjust your leadership style to
suit accordingly.
Dr. Mary Mugo is a Senior
Lecturer and Dean Business
and Economics at Multimedia
University of Kenya. She is an
author, and Consultant in Strategic
Management,
Marketing,
Leadership, and Human Resource
Management: You can commune
with her on this or related matters
vide email at: Mugojemima@
gmail.com, or visit her website at:
www.marymugo.com.