Understanding Leadership Styles

Understanding Leadership

My job role requires me to lead in two main areas. One of these is as a trainer, delivering training courses to young people. The other is as HR manager for staff within our care homes.
Sandling (2014) identifies eight different leadership styles. These are summarised as follows:
Autocratic Leadership
Characterised by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members, involves absolute authoritarian control over a group.
Democratic Leadership
Leadership style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process.
Task-Orientated Leadership
Highly goal-focussed approach that focusses on completing the task rather than on the individuals completing the task.
Relationship-Orientated Leadership
Leadership style in which the focus is on the individuals in the team, and aims to establish meaningful relationships to encourage an emotional connection to maximise performance.
Bureaucratic Leadership
A structured leadership style which relies on systems of rules, regulations and hierarchy to lead a team.
Laissez Faire Leadership
A delegative and un-controlling approach that allows staff the freedom to make decisions about how, when and where they work.
Charismatic Leadership
An approach reliant on the leader demonstrating an engaging and charming personality, which entices and inspires others.
Servant Leadership
A supportive leadership approach which is demonstrated by meeting the needs of the team, putting the needs of others before oneself, and leading by example.

Studying these leadership styles has helped me to realise that I use all of these approaches, depending on the situation, and often use a combination of several approaches.
I feel the Charismatic leadership style comes naturally to me, as I am naturally engaging and quirky, with an innate ability to inspire and motivate others. Public speaking has always been my forte, and it is this that enables me...