Hello everyone, in today's module we will be discussing about different leadership theories and its styles. But first let's have a look at what exactly is leadership. So leadership is the ability to influence a group towards achievement of goals.
But in management terms, it is a use of authority or the rank or the position which is inherent in the designated formal rank to obtain compliance from organizational members. So if you're able to achieve or the objective of the organization through its members or through the teammates by the use of your authority or your formal rank then that is known as leadership. Now let's have a look at the various theories of leadership.
There are four basic theories of leadership prevalent. The first one is the charismatic leadership theory. The next one is known as trade theory Third one is the behavioral theory and the fourth one is known as situational theory.
Now let's have a look at charismatic leadership theory. It is also known as great man theory and it suggests that a leader is born and a leader cannot be made. So it says that a leader has some charisma which acts as an influence. Now charismatic leaders, they are those who inspire their followers.
through their personal vision and through their energy. So it is an inborn quality and it cannot be developed according to charismatic leadership theory. Now Mahatma Gandhi is an example of one such leader who has the charisma or he was an inborn leader. Now there are some limitations of charismatic leadership theory. The first limitation is that this theory implies that nothing can be done to develop leaders in an organization.
But it is not true. We can develop leaders through various training and development programs and it can be developed. A charismatic leader, they may also fail in a changed situation. So if the situation is changed, a charismatic leader may not be successful.
So these are the limitations of charismatic leadership theory. So this gave rise to another theory which is known as trait theory. Now what is trait theory?
Trait is basically the quality of an individual. This theory believes that persons having certain traits, they could become successful leaders. Now, if somebody has certain qualities, they could become successful leaders.
So, some of the traits associated with great leadership are intelligence, people skills, they are able to take quick decisions, they are creative. If somebody has the competency or if somebody is trustworthy, then he or she could be a great leader. Some other qualities or traits identified. in a successful leader are the physical features for example if a person is tall and very good looking and very charming then that could also be act as a trait to become a good leader the intelligence of the person the emotional stability of the person the human relations that he has with another team members that could also make him a good leader the empathy factor that is he is able to relate to other employees. Just like his own problem, if somebody has a problem and he is able to take it as his own problem, then that is an empathy factor.
That could also be a good factor or a good trait which a leader has. Then objectivity is another factor where he is able to see things with a purpose of objective. He has the motivating skills, if he has the technical skills, if a leader has good communication skills and good social skills. So all these following qualities. if somebody has then he or she could be a good leader.
The third theory is known as behavioral theory. Now this theory says that leadership is shown by a person's acts more than by his traits. So what a person does and not what a person is makes a good leader. So it explains what leaders should do rather than what leaders are. So in case of the trait theory they were explaining what leaders are what are the qualities that a leader has but in the case of behavioral theory it says that what leaders should do to become a good leader so leaders should perform two major functions what they should do to become a good leader one they should perform task related functions what are task related functions they should provide solution to problems faced by the groups in performing their jobs so if a person is able to help others in solving their problems in doing their jobs, then he or she could be a good leader.
And also in group maintenance functions, if he or she is able to maintain or mediate the disputes and if he or she is able to make individual feel valued, then those functions, group maintenance functions, if they are able to perform, then a person can be a good leader. So that is how the behavior of a person can also make him a good leader according to this theory. So individuals who perform both these roles successfully would be an effective leader. The next theory is known as situational theory. Now here the attention is given to the situation in which the leadership is exercised and not on the traits or the qualities of the individual.
So the factors which affect leadership effectiveness are first is the leader's behavior, what kind of personality he has, what kind of attitude he or she has, what kind of interest or what position he has in the organization. So on that basis also his leadership's effectiveness will depend and situational factors are also important. What is the organization's climate or environment? What is the organization's culture, the group norms, group relationship? all these factors will also determine what whether the leadership or the leader is effective enough or not so the situation will decide whether the leadership is effective or not so these were the theories of leadership now let's understand the different styles of leadership so there are three basic styles of leadership one is known as autocratic leadership style another one is laissez-faire and the third one is known as democratic leadership style now let's look at each one in little detail The first one also known as authoritarian leadership style, autocratic or authoritarian leadership style.
Here the leader will use high levels of control over his or her teammates. The leader will decide what should be done and he will just direct or command the team members or tell them clearly that this has to be done and in this particular way. He will not really listen to the teammates or his employees on what should be done.
Now what are the positive points or the pros of this particular type of leadership style? For routine and unskilled jobs, this style can be very effective. Then also, secondly, if you want to make quick decisions, you don't have time to decide, then also this kind of leadership is effective.
You don't have to ask anybody, you can just quickly decide what needs to be done. But what are the negative points or the cons of this particular type of leadership style? Teams will not benefit from the creativity and experience of all team members.
So the team members if they're qualified, they're skilled and they're creative enough to give ideas, good fresh ideas, then the leader will not get good ideas because he or she is only deciding what needs to be done. So they will not benefit from the best possible solution to the problem. And it will also lead to a high level of demotivation and turnover among employees because they are not being listened to, their creativity is not being shown, they are unheard of.
So ultimately it will lead to the turnover or they might leave the organization. Because they will be demotivated because of the authoritarian leadership style. So here you can see in authoritarian leadership style, the tone of the leader would be that I want both of you to do this thing.
That is how he will say. He will just command them to do something and he will not really listen to them. Now let's look at the second type of leadership style which is known as democratic leadership style.
Here there is unanimity through participation. That is, everybody participates. all the team members group members will participate and they will come up with a solution or of the best possible solution for a problem what are the good things about this type of leadership style so when the direction to follow is uncertain when the leader he himself is not sure what should be done and then they need fresh ideas from the qualified teammates then in that case this type of leadership is very effective now by bringing in everyone's ideas it enriches the organization's possibility definitely when you have more options good ideas fresh ideas then definitely you'll come with a better solution it also increases the work satisfaction because here you are involving the team members for example here if somebody if you are asking somebody about their ideas then definitely they'll feel good they'll feel powered enough in the organization that yes they are being heard of so this will increase their satisfaction.
and here dealing with a lot of information leader doesn't have time to analyze everything so the followers are capable and experienced enough to take care of the situation so all the stress all the uh the the problems will not come on the leader himself he has his staff he has the followers which are capable and experienced to deal with the problem and take care of it but what are the negative points of this kind of leadership style it is not best in every situation or when time is crucial when time is a factor when you make you need to make quick decisions then in that case this is not a very good option to go for when teammates are not qualified they are not skilled enough they are not experienced enough they're not capable enough then in that case also you can't take good ideas from them and implement that okay you're just wasting time so if this type of leadership style is effective when that you have enough time at hand to take decision when your teammates are qualified or experienced so here you can see the tone of the leader would be let's work together to solve this problem that is how he will tell his teammates or will discuss problems with his teammate. That is democratic leadership style. Now let's look at the third type of leadership style which is known as laissez-faire type of leadership style.
It's a French word which means let them do leader where the leader is least interested in what should be done and he leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work. Whatever they decide, they are able to do it. Now what are the good things about this type of leaderships? It works for teams in which the individuals are very experienced and skilled. Now here if the individuals are not experienced, they are not skilled, they are not capable enough and if you give them the power to decide it will cause problems.
It will be a big problem for the organization. But here if the team is experienced and capable enough then it is for those type of teams this kind of leadership style is effective. Also for less critical areas and less for skills here you can give that kind of leadership style. So if let's say a leader has important priorities, other important things to do and the areas are less critical where decisions need to be taken, then he can exercise let's say fair kind of leadership style.
But what is the negative point about this thing? It can lead to situations where leaders are not exercising sufficient control. So the leader will lose its control over the decision making process because he or she is not involved in the decision making or he is not involved in deciding what needs to be done.
so here this kind of leadership style the leader will say you to take care of the problem while i go i i'll handle some other project you take to take care of the problem so that is how the leadership style that is less of a leadership style works so i hope this module was effective for you and if you enjoyed watching this module then please like share and subscribe thank you