Take The Lead: Understanding Your Leadership Style And Why It Is Essential To Your Business
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We all learn many lessons in life, we learn even more when we run a business! Regardless of your skill level, regardless of what part of the business you work in, and regardless of how much (or how little) you know, you will learn by a baptism of fire at some point. Running any type of business whether it is a start-up company or a mega-large conglomerate turning over billions of dollars in profits, you will refine and hone your skills as a leader over time. There is one fundamental tool that you need to make sure that every little function or detail is operating at its peak, and that is you, the leader. When you lead, you expect people to follow, and you need them to, and without you giving the right signals, your followers will question your credibility and question the organization they work in. Because if you do not know what your strengths are as a leader, then you will be unable to lead efficiently. The owners of large businesses have understood what makes them good leaders and they have implemented these traits to the hilt, so, what is yours? Or do you even know?
To learn how to lead a company, regardless of the size, you need to learn what type of characteristics you have as a leader, and you can do this by finding out your leadership style. There are five different styles, and they are as follows:
Laissez-faire
This is where a leader does not supervise employees and prefers to leave things to develop naturally. This would usually occur when working with highly experienced employees, but it is worth remembering that a lot of employees do not have these characteristics, and this style does not lend itself well to employees that require developing and nurturing. It can result in a poor production line and increased business costs.
Autocratic
This style will allow leaders to make decisions by themselves, without any additional input, so these managers have total authority and will impose on their employees with a harsh reign! While this does not sound like a positive leadership style, this means that employees will not question your decisions, and this style of leadership does benefit employees that are needing a lot of close supervision. This style does not work well with creative types!
Participative
This type of leadership style is also known as the democratic leadership style. This is where you value the efforts and inputs of team members or peers, but the final decision will be down to you. This is a great leadership style to boost employee morale due to the contributions you will require from your employees. It helps them to feel a lot more collaborative and to make their stamp on the final product, whatever that may be. This style also helps during changes within an organization, as the style will help employees to be more accepting of these changes because they have played a part in the process.
Transactional
This type of style is a performance-based leadership style. Depending on the performance results of employees or team members, you will reward or punish accordingly. The leader possesses the power to review the results and to correct or train employees when they fail to meet the goals.
Transformational
This type of leadership will depend on communication from management in order to meet goals. These type of leaders will motivate the employees and increase productivity through communication and being visible. So this type of leadership requires being involved in a lot more detail with the team leaders. This type of leadership is where you would focus on the bigger picture, and delegate smaller tasks to the right teams in order to accomplish your goals.
Those are the standard leadership styles laid out. Understanding which one is right for you may take some time. You may wish to embark on additional leadership courses such as Activia Training or similar management programs. They will help to show you in a practical manner how to address certain things in an organization, such as change or dealing with staff or stress, or how to manage your own emotions.
By running an organization, you need to be focused and dedicated to the brand and the people that inhabit the company. Understanding your own personality traits that will fit in with certain leadership styles will be the key to unlocking your potential to further improve your business. Overall it is a road that the biggest leaders have had to go on, so it is time for you to take that journey.
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