Types of leadership

There are four types of leadership: authoritarian, consultative, participative, and laissez faire.

Authoritarian leadership focuses on group goals and takes complete charge of decision making, demanding strict fulfillment from subordinates.

An example would be Bill Gates and Steve Jobs controlling their company to a success.

Consultative leadership focuses on using the skills, experiences, and ideas of others. However, the leader or manager using this style still holds the final decision power. They will not make major decisions without approval from others.

An example would be for the Critical Thinking group project. One person would approach their team members on what article to use. The team members brain storm over the issue, some suggest drug related article and others suggest political articles. The participative leader takes all these suggestions, weights their pros and cons, and then takes the final decision after considering their team members’ opinions.

Participative or democratic leadership focuses on their group members to participate. It is more expressive and group members feel more motivate and creative in this type of leadership.

An example would be asking all group members for ideas and inputs. Then, all group members vote what would be the best idea in a project. After that, asking group members to work with their strengths and have them divide the work. This lets members to work at their own pace and set their own deadlines. This is the type of leadership my Critical Thinking group is using.

Laissez-faire leadership focuses on the group to function more or less on its own. It is when there are no feedbacks from the leader. All of the group members have the power of authority.

An example is when the manager have other higher priority and went on a business trip. All the employee have the power to maintain the store.