Holding a position of leadership in a work setting can be a fairly tedious depending on an individual’s leadership style and their leadership approach in dealing with situations. According to Kurt Lewin’s model of leadership styles there are 3 different types.
1. Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic)
Provides clear expectations for what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done. There is also a clear division between the leader and the followers. Authoritarian leaders make decisions independently with little or no input from the rest of the group.
2. Participative Leadership (Democratic; Most Effective)
Democratic leaders offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in the group and allow input from other group members. Participative leaders encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say over the decision-making process.
3. Delegative Leadership (Least Productive)
Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-making up to group members. While this style can be effective in situations where group members are highly qualified in an area of expertise, it often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of motivation.
Although the 3 listed above are the 3 major types, many styles have been listed but when looking at the definition of leadership within the United States Marine Corps, they all are wrong. Furthermore, Northouse states that to situationally determine what is needed in a particular situation, a leader must evaluate her or his employees and assess how competent and committed they are to perform a given task. This is done by using all of the directive and supportive behaviors: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. A great leader does not possess just one of the leadership styles they possess them all which ultimately establishes a since of dynamic leadership. Dynamic leadership allows a leader to adapt and react to situational changes by being proactive.
Today’s Marines are very diverse in aspects of race, gender, nationality, and culture. And it is because of these vast differences that dynamic leadership is a vital tool. Unlike in the civilian sector, as supervisors in the Marine Corps (Senior leaders) we are charged with making sure our Junior enlisted are taken care of and proficient in all areas of their lives: which include work, individually, and financially. With dynamic leadership it allows us to group individuals together as a whole, and not individually.
I do believe that Corporal Matthew Progen said it best in his essay “Overcoming new leadership challenges” which was published in the Marine Corps Gazette. He states, “Just as all Marines can easily recognize the different personalities of their superiors, leaders must be able to recognize those same distinctions in the Marines they lead. In a squad of 12 Marines, a squad leader may need to interact with each one in a different way. Dynamic leadership is addressing different Marines in different ways to illicit the same behaviors. For instance, some Marines would be fully prepared to conduct a convoy after a verbal brief. However, some Marines may need accompanying visual aids in order to fully grasp what is going to take place on the convoy. Understanding that, and adjusting one’s presentation style, is how a dynamic leader ensures that all of his Marines are ready prior to undertaking a mission.
In summary, great leaders do not possess just one leadership style. Great leaders are able to adapt to those individuals in whom they are in charge of and communicate with them in ways which are understandable to them individually and which allows each of them to accomplish the task set-forth.
References
Cherry, K. (2008, July 04). About psychology. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htm
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: theory and practice (6th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publication
Progen, M. (n.d.). Overcoming new leadership challenges. Marine Corps Gazette, Retrieved from http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/dynamic-leadership
Tina
I like your example of the situational approach and tying it with the Marine Corps. I agree with you, to be a good leader you must be directive and supportive along the way. Like you said the “Marines are very diverse in aspects of race, gender, nationality and culture.” I would have to agree with you, to be successful as a leader you need to have many of these leadership styles to be a successful leader. I have had many teachers that can be directive and supportive along the way. I have had experience with both types of teachers. The teachers that are both directive and supportive seem to stick out better in my mind because they want to give you the ability to succeed and they also critique you along the way. This re-insures that they are teaching you correctly and having an understanding of the information.
I really enjoyed reading your blog entry. In both of our blogs we bring up examples from our own life, explaining how they prove the importance of the Situational Approach. As much as my example demonstrates the importance of the Situational Approach, your story further proves this to me. As you mentioned in your blog, Marines are very diverse in many different aspects. Just as Marines may all be different, so are members of a dance team. In my example, I bring up how the difference in level and experience of dance members calls the need for the Situational Approach. In order for a leader to be successful they must be able to cater to the needs of their different followers. As mentioned in the class PowerPoint, “the situational approach believes that employees move forward and back along the developmental continuum” (PSU, 2013). In both my situation and yours, a leader that can move back and forth along that continuum is extremely necessary. You also bring up the importance of demonstrating more than just one leadership style. I agree with this completely. My dance coach was definitely a directive leader but she was not supportive, which is what made her not a very effective leader. It is from both my example and yours that I am able to fully understand the importance of the Situational Approach and the necessity of demonstrating the many different leadership styles.
References
PSU (2013). Class PowerPoint (PDF Document). Retrieved from Lecture Notes
Online Web site:
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp13/psych485/003/content/02_lesson/11 _page.html