Broadly defined, a leader is someone who sets a direction for a company. company. This vision needs to be created and then fiercely believed and upheld. The leader must inspire others others to work toward the vision.
To do this well, a leader has to first be followed, trusted, and respected by their
subordinates.
Typically leaders have this vision because they also have a strong aspiration to make their mark on
things. They aren‟t happy with the way things are and believe they can make a substantial change. These characteristics may seem to make a person egotistical and arrogant but a good leader is still able to admit to and learn from faults or mistakes.
What is Bill Gates’ leadership style?
Bill Gates was great at setting direction for the company. company. He had a vision of the world world and
successfully moved Microsoft in that direction. That vision was “a computer on every desk and in time when personal computing every home”. Gates started the first major software company at a time hardly existed – a radical change that has helped lead us into the Information Era. Gates believes,
“it will affect the world seismically, rocking us in the same way the discovery of the scientific method, the invention of printing… did.”
This is the first mark of a transformational leader. He had a major commitment to a huge goal and backed it with his own values and beliefs.
In his book, Business the Bill Gates Way, Des
Dearlove writes, “Bill Gates is a modern business phenomenon: the greatest of the cyber-tycoons.
His is not simply a story of technical brilliance and enormous wealth; it is one of remarkable business vision and an obsessive desire to win. It is also about a leadership style that is radically radicall y different to anything the business world has seen before. ”
He not only wanted his company to
make an impact on the world, but he wanted to be “driving the bus” that did it.
He did this with a combination of leadership styles. Gates is directive in in terms of what he wants wants and the strategy of the company. He has accepted that that his major role is to be the visionary. visionary. He likes confrontation in a sense that he wants things out in the open so they can be dealt with and resolved. He had the ability to respond respond to market changes by quickly reinventing reinventing the company.
He is also, however, however, participative and consultative. He does seek advice from from subordinates but makes his own decisions. During his reign he considered the input of all employees and in most cases even responded to their emails within 24 hours. Gates also participated in what what Microsoft
calls “Think Week”. Think Week is where Gates is the sole sole reader of over 100 documents written by employees emplo yees pertaining to company compa ny issues and future technology. Decentralizing the process of gathering information led to a stronger company and helped stay away from the bureaucracy that Gates did not want.
This also helps him gain the trust of his employees. It shows them that Gates cares about their opinions and wants their advice in running the business. Being a programmer himself also enables
him to interact with employees on a common ground. He isn‟t just another MBA or manager, he‟s one of them.
This makes him a border-line craftsmen craftsmen in terms of leadership, however he did a
good job over the years in becoming interested interested and on top of other aspects of the business. It was
this ability to handle both the business and technical sides of the company that made Microsoft so successful.
Being a transformational leader also makes him charismatic yet humble. He is hard working and motivates people. After all, he did get Steve Ballmer to drop out of Stanford to come and work with Microsoft. Successful ventures are defended heartily keeping employees inspired to do more. He also gives credit to competition when they have a great product. In the video, Bill Gates Praising Apple Computers, Gates praises Apple for their standard setting products. He really cares about the evolution of technology and not just his own personal development.
What is Steve Ballmer’s leadership style?
Steve Ballmer‟s leadership style is much less defined.
He is not very big on radical change and
does not seem to have the same bold vision that Gates had. I‟m not quite sure what his greater goal is. They have already achieved Gate‟s goal so now what is Ballmer‟s? Ballmer once said the focus was no longer Windows or web developers, “Not any more baby, it's advertising, advertising, advertising!” ( Microsoft’s Ballmer and his ‘brother’ Bill Gates ) He‟s staying true to his business background but that isn‟t what Microsoft is all about.
This does however open up a few doors for Microsoft. It is believed by Louis Carter, CEO of the
Best Practice Institute, that one of Ballmer‟s strengths is that he understands the industry‟s market. “Ballmer allows for a huge pipeline of information around him,” says Carter. “He is willing to stand up and hear the feedback. And he closely monitors the needs of his audience - market
demands, perceived competitors, customers and employees - to immediately change his position at any given moment.”
As Ballmer comes from the business side, he is more financially and task oriented. There is no
technical confrontation with him as he is not a technical person and probably doesn‟t know how to interact with programmers or designers in the same way Gates did. In spite of this perceived
downfall, he does believe that talent is crucial to reaching technical goals. “According to Ballmer, Microsoft must maintain a corporate culture that nurtures and rewards innovation in order to tap the full potential of technologies...”
( Ballmer Foresees Growth in Information Management
Technology)
As will be discussed shortly, his focus does seem to be more on beating the competition and raising values and revenues.
This seems to make him more transactional leader than
transformational. However, charisma is a defining characteristic of Ballmer and he is able to
inspire people. He even classifies himself as more “bubbly” than other leaders. Even so, his emotional and charismatic antics are not sufficient for a leadership role as suggested in the lecture. Perhaps these antics are more of a publicity stunt than feelings backed by values and a true belief in the company.
If that is the case, he may not be a leader in the full sense of the word. Maybe a gamesman would be a more accurate depiction? He seems to believe in something but will still do anything to win
and can disguise moves with crazy behavior. Of course it‟s impossible to determine one‟s true thought and beliefs so this is purely hypothetical speculation. At least he says he realizes that
some adjustments need to be made regarding his leadership style. This shift to CEO has forced these changes, and also changes to his personality as described by some executives he works closely with.
These changes have not subdued his blatant arrogance. In the video Microsoft CEO Ballmer laughs at Apple iPhone, he actually laughs at the idea of the iPhone and believes Microsoft‟s strategy is clearly better. He almost seems confused and insulted when then interviewer asks him
“How do you compete with that?” He does go on to mention that the iPod is in the lead for music but quickly goes on to say the Zune is gaining ground. I wonder how he feels about that interview
now…
The same arrogance is displayed in regards to Google. In The CEO Must Steer the Corporate Culture, Says Steve Ballmer, Ballmer notes that Google‟s success is not a threat to Microsoft but
that their business built on search technology is very good. He went on to say “everything else [it produces] is sort of cute.” And he disagrees with Google‟s tactic of letting employees work on their own projects by saying “pet projects aren't „paying for me to come down to Stanford Business School.‟”
He can never compliment a competitive business without subsequently
mentioning that Microsoft is better in his opinion.
This could be in part due to his philosophy on partnerships. He wants to pass a stable vision of Microsoft onto its partners and customers to convince them that even with all of the hype surrounding Google and iPhones, Microsoft is still not only in the game, but a leader in the
industry. “I have learned about business partners that business partners are your partners because
they make money with you, they succeed with you. And if you don't succeed, eventually you don't
have any partners.”
(Steve Ballmer speaks passionately about Microsoft, Leadership… and
Passion)
What effect did Gates have on Microsoft?
James Collins, co-author of the book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,
said, “To my mind, Microsoft has never been a company. It's a single remarkable individual, Gates, with thousands of the smartest, best-paid people anywhere helping that individual. It's basically like a big wheel, with Gates at the hub.” ( Leadership the Bill Gates Way)
He was a very smart, hardworking, goal driven individual who had the ability to inspire people to follow him. That was his biggest contribution to the company as a leader. Once the vision was clear, the company could speak for itself. He reinvented and refocused it frequently, always with a great degree of confidence. Although he enjoyed beating the competition he typically did not cast an arrogant or vindictive vibe and praised competitors for products he felt were superior.
When asked about competition by Peter Jennings in an ABC interview, Gates said, “Well, competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry is intensely competitive. Whether it's Google or Apple or free software, we've got some fantastic competitors and it keeps
us on our toes.”
Gates also had the greatest talents hand selected for him. He liked to work closely with his employees as much as he could and greatly considered their feedback. A great deal of effort was
put into retaining these employees that Gates considered invaluable to Microsoft‟s success. The culture reflected the importance of these employees and Microsoft set a high standard for how technology companies should treat their employees. There was a big focus on career development and healthcare. Early on, all employees could email him directly with comments, suggestions, or complaints. He also created a campus that employees never had to leave. They were offered free drinks and health club memberships, laundry and grocery services, and even counseling. “Bill
Gates understood the value in paying well, giving great perks, and investing in his employee‟s future.
He has probably made more people wealthy than any other CEO alive. He also
understands what it takes to motivate his employees so they were engaged and excited about their
work.” (7 Awesome Lessons from Bill Gates – Love Him or Hate Him, He is a Genius)
It also was a culture that nurtured employees in conjunction with the innovations and products they were working on. Gates put a great emphasis on innovation and believes, “In fact, the way software works -- so long as you are using your existing software -- you don't pay us anything at all. So we're only paid for breakthroughs. We have to make a new version of Windows or Office
that you think is worth going out and buying.” (One-on-One with Bill Gates) As a result, Gates tried to meet with every product team for a “Bill Review”. As described by Chris Caposela, a senior Vice President in the Business Division, “Bill Review‟s” were “famous for the intense barrage of questions Gates would fire at product teams. Those are sort of legendary for teams to get a big morale boost from how that product review went. [They] got a lot of mileage out of the feedback that he would provide.” ( Ballmer focusing on next big thing for Microsoft ). This kept
him in direct contact with all of the company‟s offerings, as well provided as a visible, involved, and enthusiastic leader to employees.
What effect did Ballmer have on Microsoft?
While Bill Gates liked to focus the majority of his time on technology and production, Steve Ballmer focuses more on the business aspects of the company. He reorganized the business into units and tried to expand on core products as a new strategy. Ballmer has also tried to make efforts to remedy customer and partner relationships.
It‟s not clear if his business oriented approach to these problems is actually helping or not but it‟s a step in the right direction. It is also not clear if he has the same overall vision and tenacity for technology as Gates. He says his focus is on the long-term and wants to work on markets until they are competitive. Rather than accomplishing this by focusing on maintaining loyal customers with useful and meaningful new product offerings and updates, he instead half-heartedly focuses on catching up to and beating the competition, no matter what the market might be.
For example, Microsoft originally had two main offerings – operating systems and Office. They recently added the Web and Software as a Service to that list. So why bother with the Zune music
player? It‟s an obvious reaction to the iPod/iPhone which Ballmer publicly scoffed at. This is nasty spin on the once positive “embrace and extend” mantra at Microsoft. Combined with Ballmer‟s flagrant attitude, it leaves those loyal customers wondering why Microsoft has not
released a decent product under his reign. And furthermore, why he isn‟t doing anything to improve the products he does have.
As of late, Ballmer has realized some of his faults and actively tried to change his style. He has transformed himself and the business.
As a person, he is more reserved in appearance and
portrays his attitude as passionate and energetic. His entrance into seemingly random markets is
now portrayed as a base for future growth. He is also working to save Microsoft‟s reputation as a mature and trust worthy company.
Internally, Ballmer is trying to make some changes for the better. He created Vision Version 2 which is supposed to energize employees and help them focus on customers. He wants to improve current service and support while still staying/becoming the industry leader. To help accomplish this he is giving more authority to employees and running with some of their ideas. This will streamline some of the recent bureaucracy so that research and development is not slowed. In some ways this might be a combination of his lack of technical expertise and his financial management skills. The new vision saves money and allows a Microsoft without Bill Gates micromanaging projects to succeed.
Still a lingering concern for many, Ballmer is pushing forcefully for expansion beyond
Windows.
“Moving into these areas may be the riskiest part of Microsoft's strategy under
Ballmer. It involves a tricky balancing act that pits Microsoft's growth aspirations against its
pledge to be a better partner and leader in the industry.” ( Microsoft CEO wants company to broaden its reach, burnish its reputation) Part of the maturation plan will have to be learning to
play nicely with these competitors and partners. The other part of the plan will be getting the
employees and customers on board. Ballmer says “When you are not the first guy in the market, you have two choices…: Get in or don't get in. ... Are you a company that is afraid to get into something where there is a clear market leader? We put our hands up and said, 'No, we're not
going to be afraid of that.'” (Steve Ballmer speaks passionately about Microsoft, Leader ship… and Passion) If Ballmer can get these two key parts nailed down he will have a really great chance to do something big with the company.
7 Key Lessons from a Greatest Leader of all times - Bill Gates
June 27, 2008
th
28 June, 2008 saw the end of an era in Business, Technology and rd
Greatness. Founder of Microsoft, William Henry Gates III, presently the 3 richest person in the world, decided to hang his boots and start living a life with bigger purpose. My idol for a long time, Bill Gates has been a name to reckon with at every single home, at every single corporation. His career spanning over 33 long years provided a great sense of achievement for
himself and the rest of the computer industry. He quoted “If GM had kept up with technology like the com puter industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG”. This is the kind of influence he had after founding Microsoft Corporation the big giant in the IT industry. I
want to write here some of the great learning‟s of mine from this genius.
Success comes with a Great Vision “Every business and household must have a computer and must run Microsoft software” ,
was the basic guiding vision of Bill Gates. When everyone in the world were not even aware of
the software industry‟s future here was a man who trusted on his gut feel and passion decided to take the vision the farthest possible way. He was almost there achieving his vision. This clear vision of him won him several laurels and went to be the richest person in the world for 13 continuous long years. “Do what you are Passionate about, the rest will Follow” – Praveen Sherman
This is something that I learnt from Bill Gates even as an young lad. I grew up seeing the success
of Bill Gates and I was for a long time
under the impression that he
was just making lots of money by luck. But what Bill Gates proved was different. There is no one who could write software code as he could. When as a student at the Harvard university, every single student would have wanted to be part of the great institute and graduate to be successful, Bill Gates decided to stop studying and pursue his dream of writing softwares for every computer in the world. Just started the agreement between IBM and Microsoft, Gates along with friend Paul Allen was to write an interpreter for the IBM PC. He was not ready on the date that was announced for the installation and the good news for Gates was that the party at the other end too were not ready. This got the fire in him to write that piece of software and bundle with every IBM computer in the world. He was just passionate about software, coding and technology that incidentally also made him the richest man in the world
“Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana” says Bill Gates that has made him a great
innovator too. Focusing on taking the computer to every single house hold made him an household name too. Failures are learning lessons:-Perseverance
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning .” - Bill Gates
Bill Gates was never afraid of losing and went on to win a lot of deals because of this. While the Microsoft windows operating system is the widely used in the world, there are a good number of criticisms and unhappiness about the software among the users. While many of them used to get bugged using Microsoft products, Bill Gates did not easily give up. He took all those as nice lesson and is improving every single day. When critics were talking about infringement of laws by Bill Gates, he struck on and was giving the best the employees and the users of Microsoft Software products.
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. ” - Bill Gates Higher the Self Esteem the better it gets
When you start achieving something big, there will be people who would want to make fun of your efforts, pull you down and so on. The stronger you stand the bolder you get the faster these negatives wither. When IBM pulled out of the contract for the operating system to be bundled with the IBM Clone PCs, Bill Gates stayed on and started focusing on the creating Windows amidst lots of hiccups
that will hamper the company. Inventing the MS Access database system, was a relevant owing to the failure of the Omega Database with IBM. He saw an opportunity at every single place that helped him to achieve greatest heights. He did not allow others to deter him by inventing many thins to the public and still reaching his top most Goals and vision.
“Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors and i t keeps us on our toes ” – Bill Gates Opportunity knocks once:
Bill Gates took up the responsibility of being the Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates was nurturing Microsoft by building a broad range of products. This was not just capitalize on the knowledge but provide the best by understanding the need of the people. He did not sit back and wait for people to ask what they wanted and instead made a revolution of creating an opportunity for himself and his company by innovating. He did not sit and do something that anyone could, but he took the reins into his hands to almost single handedly take Microsoft to this great heights.
“I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act. ” – Bill Gates Action Speaks Louder
This is one never mentioned secret of success. Action is the key word. When logic never drives us its emotions. We must have that emotional strength in us to take action. Bill Gates as a small young boy never had anything to lose which he kept telling his good friend Paul Allen. When he had several odds again him such as the American Law and several
cases against him, he still consistently took action b y developing more software which the people wanted. This made him a super star overnight. If not for Bill Gates, Microsoft would have not seen the light today of what it gets. This was because of his constant delivery of ideas to his Goals and vision. He was a drop out from one of the worlds best universities the Harvard and not everyone from there went to achieve great heights like Bill Gates did, which proves the basic fact that education is just a tool for success and does not define success itself. During the convocation address at the Harvard university, Bill Gates mentioned that good he came when they were graduating and not when during the time when they joined the university else they would have changed their mind.
“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the ne xt ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction. ” – Bill Gates Trust- An unwritten rule for great leadership wisdom
Right from day 1 at Microsoft, Bill Gates was very open to the ideas. This he also proved later when Steve Balmer stepped into the shoes of Bill Gates and became the CEO of the company.
He always believed that there is no end to learning from people, from books and so on. “I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot”, says Bill Gates ready for more ideas to float around which will make sure that the same culture of innovation continues in Microsoft even without his presence.
“At Microsoft there are lots of brilliant ideas but the image is that they all come from the top - I’m afraid that’s not quite right .” – Bill Gates Success must never get on to the head
This is by far the best lesson what we learn from Bill Gates. At a tender age of 21, Bill Gates had achieved many a things including having money and fame. This
did not allow him to stop achieving and always had the drive to achieve great heights. “If I‟d had some set idea of a finish line, don‟t you think I would have crossed it years ago?” quote Bill Gates with utmost passion and determination.
“Microsoft is not about greed. It’s about Innovation and Fairness .” – Bill Gates Never stop learning was the Mantra of Bill Gates which he follow till date. This empowers him to be a Great Leader of our times. He will always be remembers as an Icon and even without his presence in Microsoft he would still be regarded as a great inventor and a real genius in every regard of Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship.
Bill Gates: Entrepreneur, Manager, and Leader
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Today marks the last working day for Bill Gates at Microsoft. So much has been written and spoken about him that another column appears redundant. Some people may even feel a tinge of happiness that they no longer have to contend with the ruthless businessman that Gates has been portrayed as. The purpose of this post is to analyze what can be learned by young people from perhaps the most successful entrepreneur of our times.
• Focus: Bill Gates has demonstrated over nearly thirty years the importance of clarity of thought and execution. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not move away from the domain he understood better than anything else - software. He has pursued the objective of dominance in software in general and operating systems in particular that has few parallels. Venturing into unfamiliar territory may be fashionable but carries a high degree of risk. If ever a need arises for an absolute example for what Peters and Waterman called "Stick to the Knitting" and Hamel and Prahalad termed core competence, one needs to look no further than Bill Gates and Microsoft. Focus also means the ability to pursue one's goals whatever the obstacles may be. Such a degree of perseverance is hard to come by.
• Thinking big : Along with focus, the ability to dream big and pursue that with single-minded determination sets Gates apart from other entrepreneurs. This is particularly true of entrepreneurs from emerging economies like India where an ultra-conservative attitude has stifled growth. Entrepreneurs need to develop confidence in themselves and their team that they can take on the world and come out winners.
• Passion : Simply put, if anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well. From a simple thank you note to a complex proposal, it is critical to place the stamp of excellence on whatever one
undertakes. Equally important is the need to constantly innovate. Change is the only constant and the more agile and adaptive we are to change, the more successful we can be.
• Learning as a life-long process : Though dropping out of college to his dreams, Bill Gates has probably read and written more than most of us ever will. In the process, he has shown the limits of formal education. Important as formal education is, perhaps it is more important to realize that learning is a life-long process. Knowledge is infinite. Even if we keep assimilating it without a break throughout a lifetime, we would not have scratched the surface. Knowledge should lead to humility and wisdom - not arrogance and one-upmanship.
• Giving back to society : The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided a new dimension to philanthropy by addressing issues that are global in nature - malaria, cancer, AIDS. Feeling good by doing good may appear old-fashioned but this may yet be the best way forward in combating diseases that kill or maim millions of people every year. With friend and legendary investor Warren Buffet also joining hands, a formidable combination has been forged. Bill Gates has shown a remarkable degree of consistency both in his business goals and in his goals in philanthropy - he is a global citizen.
Although some Indian entrepreneurs have indeed espoused similar causes - Infosys Foundation, Azim Premji Foundation, and the House of Tata come to mind, a lot more can be done by successful Indian entrepreneurs. In fact, just 5% of the wealth of the 200 richest people can eradicate some of the most pressing problems that we face. Wealth should not be merely in terms of building the most flamboyant homes but in pursuing a higher calling. Where is the collective conscience of the rich who hav made it big due to the society that they are a part of?
As with any successful or great person, there will always be controversies. In an age where the distinction between means and ends is increasingly blurred, taking extreme positions hardly helps. One may not agree with Gates' means for achieving what he has, but one would find it difficult to ignore his contributions to the IT industry. However, history and posterity will probably recognize him more for what he has decided to do - at a relatively young age - for the rest of his life. Combating hunger, fighting disease and educating the poor are truly lofty goals worth emulating by anyone who cares for humanity and for the quality of life on this planet. On this count, there cannot be many role models better than Bill Gates. The last thirty years have seen the emergence of an entrepreneur par excellence. The next thirty years will probably see the emergence of the greatest individual philanthropist - not necessarily in monetary terms - but in terms of the global issues addressed with dedication.
Since this is a discussion forum, two questions to readers:
• How do you get the next Bill Gates, or better, without inviting the kind of controversy that his success has spawned?
• Why can't governments spend 1% less on defense and use the money to improve living conditions for the poorest of the poor?
LEADERSHIP STYLE OF BILL GATES
AUTHORITATIVE
Authoritative leaders were first described by Daniel Goleman in connection with the six leadership styles he defined. As described by Goleman, authoritative leaders can be summarized as being experts in their field of work that are able to clearly articulate a vision and the path to success.
The trademark of this type of leader is their ability to mobilize people towards a vision. This leadership style is most effective when a new vision is needed or when the path to that vision is not always clear. One of the interesting aspects of this style is that even though the leader is considered an authority, they allow the followers to figure out the best way to accomplish their goals.
We're starting out with Bill Gates because this style exemplifies his leadership abilities. As is the case with many CEOs, Bill Gates was able to successfully move Microsoft in the direction he saw the industry going.
Even though Mr. Gates has removed himself from some of the daily operations of Microsoft, he is still thought of as an industry visionary - an authority. The personal computer is playing a greater role in America and Bill Gates has done much to further its advancement. He had a vision, he told the world, and he aligned the resources of Microsoft with that vision.
PARTICIPATIVE
Bill
Gate‟s
subordinate his
role
leadership in
was
decision to
be
is
participative
making. visionary
He of
is the
style a
flexible
company.
because
he
person
and
When
ever
involves he
needed
his
recognized he
bring
professional Gates
is
nature,
manager a
strong
judgment
involving
his
for
managing
and
skills friends
and
energizing
reflect to
his
well
structure
person
his
personality.
working
with
the
enthusiasm, His
him
of
organization. hard
motivating
became
the
working
power
and
success
of
and
Microsoft.
Gates hard
adopting working
visionary
he
the give
changes him
always
very
the
fast
success.
recognize
that Gates
professional
are
his
enthusiasm
vision
always
recognized
him
management,
he
as
a
decentralize
authority to make organization structure better.
DELEGATIVE
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16315025/Leadership-Style-of-Billgates
believed dat recruiting of talented software engg- extr crucial looked for a bundle of attributes in his recruits best talent wud nvr apply directly HR managers hunt for recruits Not innovative- reformed existing products instead of inventing new ones Any extent to best his opponents…”Bill gates not only wants to win, but to kill
competition. He wants to bury the wounded”
Been in & out of the courtroom several times fighting legal battles
TRANSFORMATIONAL
A
transformational
One
leader
is
such
someone
who
person
can
is
see
the
big
Bill
picture Gates.
His role was of Chief Architect at Microsoft placing a huge burden on his shoulders Some might say that Bill Gates has not only shaped the computer industry through his leadership at Microsoft but also he has provided countless opportunities to other individuals who have themselves
started
companies
of
their
own
to
bring
innovation
to
market
Interestingly, today companies not thought as innovative actually had someone who could see the big picture leading the company
DIFFERENT
1]
Authoritarian
STYLES
/
OF
Autocratic
LEADERSHIP
[applicable]
An autocratic leader is the one who believes in taking all the important decisions himself. It is the leader who decides how the work has to be done and by whom. Once the decision has been made, there is no scope of any change. The subordinates simply carry on with the works assigned to them. They are not allowed to give any input regarding how they should do their work or conduct daily activities. Every detail is pre-decided by the leader himself. In case some changes in the work schedule have to be made, they are made by the leader without consulting any one else.
Autocratic leadership style works well if the leader is competent and knowledgeable enough to decide about each and every thing. Authoritative is considered one of the most effective leadership styles in case there is some emergency situation and quick decisions need to be taken. If there is no time left for discussion or weighing various options, then this type of leadership
style gives the best results. Authoritarian leadership styles examples can be found in the real world in people like Bill Gates and John F Kennedy. Bill Gates followed the authoritarian leadership style and steered Microsoft towards unbelievable success. According to Bill Gates, he had a vision when he took reins of the company and then used all the resources available to make that vision a reality. His success can be judged from the way personal computers industry has advanced in America today.
Under the autocratic leadership style, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader, as with dictator leaders.
They do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates. The autocratic management has been successful as it provides strong motivation to the manager. It permits quick decision-making, as only one person decides for the whole group and keeps each decision to himself until he feels it is needed to be shared with the rest of the group.
2]
Participative
/
democratic
Participative leadership style involves the leader taking into consideration the opinions of some of his employees before arriving at the final decision. This leadership style earns the leader immense respect and loyalty among his subordinates, as they feel that their opinions matter too. This leadership style is useful for the leader as he gets to see a given situation from all directions, before deciding on the final course of action. This leadership style works really well in situations when the leader does not know everything and he relies on his subordinate's knowledge for
taking decisions. The biggest advantage of this leadership and management style is, that it helps in ascertaining and identifying future leaders among the subordinates. Also, it keeps a team's spirit and morale high, as the team members feel that their opinions are valued by their leader.
Here's a participative leadership styles examples - An advertising manager approaches his team members on how to promote a particular product of a company. The team members brain storm over the issue, some suggest print media, others suggest direct mails to the prospective clients. The participative leader takes all these suggestions, weighs their pros and cons and then takes the final
decision
after
considering
his
team
members'
3]
opinions.
Delegative
A delegative leadership style is very rarely followed in modern organizations today. This leadership style gives full freedom to the subordinates while decision making or doing the tasks at hand, in any given manner they find suitable. This leadership style is mostly followed when the leader places immense faith in each and every member of his team and if he is sure that the team members are capable enough to run things themselves. This style of leadership should however be used very wisely, because if the team members lack decision making or analyzing skills,
it
can
back
fire
very
badly.
Here's a Delegative leadership styles examples - A manager has newly joined a firm. He is still learning how various things function in the organization. In such a situation, he relies on the suggestions and opinions of his team members and lets them do the things the way they are used to, till the time he is able to gain sufficient knowledge and can suggest some more feasible
changes.
Here's hoping that these leadership styles examples will help you to understand the different styles of leadership in a better way. A true leader is the one who makes use of each of these leadership styles, depending upon the demands of the situation.
4] Laissez-faire or free rein style
A free rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself as shown; such a leader allows maximum freedom to subordinates, i.e., they are given a free hand in deciding their own policies and methods.
5] Bureaucratic leadership
Bureaucratic leaders work "by the book." They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their staff follows procedures precisely. This is a very appropriate style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights) or where large sums of money are involved (such as handling cash).
6] Transformational leadership [ quite applicable]
As we discussed earlier, people with this leadership style are true leaders who inspire their teams constantly with a shared vision of the future. While this leader's enthusiasm is often passed onto the team, he or she can need to be supported by "detail people." That's why, in many
organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership are needed. The transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while the transformational leaders look after initiatives that add value.
7]Transactional leadership [applicable]
This style of leadership starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader totally when they accept a job. The "transaction" is usually the organization paying the team members in return for their effort and compliance. The leader has a right to "punish" team members if their work doesn't meet the pre-determined standard.
Team members can do little to improve their job satisfaction under transactional leadership. The leader could give team members some control of their income/reward by using incentives that encourage even higher standards or greater productivity. Alternatively, a transactional leader could practice "management by exception" – rather than rewarding better work, the leader could take corrective action if the required standards are not met.
Transactional leadership is really a type of management, not a true leadership style, because the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work.
8] Charismatic leadership
A charismatic leadership style can seem similar to transformational leadership, because these leaders inspire lots of enthusiasm in their teams and are very energetic in driving others forward. However, charismatic leaders can tend to believe more in themselves than in their teams, and this creates a risk that a project, or even an entire organization, might collapse if the leader leaves. In
the eyes of the followers, success is directly connected to the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and it needs a l ong-term commitment from the leader.
9] People-oriented leadership or relations-oriented leadership [ type of participative]
This is the opposite of task-oriented leadership. With people-oriented leadership, leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people in their teams. It's a participative style, and it tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration.
In practice, most leaders use both task-oriented and people-oriented styles of leadership.
10] Task-Oriented leadership [applicable]
Highly task-oriented leaders focus only on getting the job done, and they can be quite autocratic. They actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organize, and monitor. However, because task-oriented leaders don't tend to think much about the well-being of their teams, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, with difficulties in motivating and retaining staff.
11] Servant leadership[ type of participative]
This term, created by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader who is often not formally recognized as such. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads simply by meeting the needs of the team, he or she is described as a "servant leader."
In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership, because the whole team tends to be involved in decision making.
Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest that it's an important way to move ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, and where servant leaders achieve power on the basis of their values and ideals. Others believe that in competitive leadership situations, people who practice servant leadership can find themselves left behind by leaders using other leadership styles.
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