Bureaucratic leadership relies on a clear chain of command and strict regulations. Bureaucratic leadership style is a very decent style for work involving serious safety risks, such as handling toxic substances, moving large objects. The focus is on compliance with rules and laid down procedures to make sure that the group is doing their job correctly and safely. Learn some advantages and disadvantages of this style and situations in which this style could prove to be effective.
The term bureaucracy is referred to a group of non-elected officials within a government or other institution that implements the rules, laws, ideas, and functions of their institution. The term "bureaucracy" was created from the French word bureau, meaning desk or office. Weber describes six bureaucratic values that are vital in obtaining a functioning and self-sufficient business. These six characteristics include imperial positions, rule-governed decision making, professionalism, a chain of command, defined responsibilities, and bounded authority. Defined responsibility is an important value in bureaucracy and demands that an office or workplace must have fields of specialization in order to diversify the company. Every worker must know the responsibilities of his job in the most intimate detail possible. Further, there must be a stable, defined set of general rules for the employees that they must abide by at all times.
The bureaucratic leader is very structured and follows the procedures in the letter and spirit as they have been established by the organization. Leaders ensure that all the steps had been followed prior to sending it to the next level of authority. A natural bureaucratic leader will create detailed instructions for other members of a group and will expect the members to follow a close set of standards. Everything is done in an exact, specific way, working "by the book", following rules rigorously. The emphasis is on compliance and it is ensured that their people follow procedures precisely. If it isn't covered by the book, the manager refers to the next level above him or her.
It is a style that is diffused among a number of departments or people and there is a strictest of rules. This is a classic style of leadership and is used quite a lot in organizations that don’t encourage innovation and change and by leaders who may be insecure and uncertain in what their role may be. This type of leadership has no space to explore new ways to solve problems and is usually slow-paced to ensure approval of the ladders stated by the company. Leaders that try to speed up the process usually lead to frustration and anxiety in the team. Followers/employees operating within a bureaucracy are given very little choice as to how they play their roles and the vast majority of their day-to-day tasks will be governed by the rule book.
In conclusion, this leadership style is very effective in certain situations that demand this type of approach as this behavior ensures that the team and tasks are very organized and everything is precisely done as specified or planned. The entire team understands their job profile and expectations and ensures good control over the situation. On the flip slide, this style is not suitable for most of the jobs of the 21st Century where the followers are expected to lead and show creativity and innovation. This leadership style is task-focused and is often met with a wince from a management team and is generally disliked by the followers.
Appreciative leaders encourage contributions from those around them and facilitate the discussion to mutually solve problems. Understand the concept of Appreciative Leadership and learn about tools to create and ask powerful questions - that lead to new discoveries and possibilities. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong in the workplace, learn about, and build upon what works. Learn in this article the art to apply appreciative inquiry to specific situations and challenges at your workplace.
Frederick Winslow Taylor started the “Scientific Management Movement”, and attempted to study the work process scientifically. Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. It is a system for increasing the efficiency of manpower to its maximum potential and streamlining production to improve efficiency. This article explores this theory in more detail.
Understanding of how individuals of different cultures interact with each other is very important. Not all individuals can adapt to the leadership styles expected in a different culture whether that culture is organizational or national. In a fast-paced business environment, developing a richer understanding and sensitivity to other cultures is a skill that leaders must possess. Learn to be effective in a cross-cultural setting.
Crisis leadership is a very important part of leading in today's world. The skills a leader needs in order to guide people during a crisis are different from the skills needed to help a group grow. Are you a good crisis leader? What is your leadership style in case of a business crisis situation? A business crisis can test the strongest of leaders, read this article to explore how to ensure you’re ready to take action and weather the storm when one strikes you.
Adaptive leadership is a style of leadership that emphasizes the importance of each and every person and role within the company. Adaptive leadership views the organization as an ever-changing, living organization, where employees can learn, adapt, and grow. Adaptive leaders mobilize people towards a common goal and also have the courage to experiment with new ideas and approaches. Adaptive leadership is the practice of mobilizing groups of people to tackle tough challenges and thrive. Learn how to adopt this style and how to become an adaptive leader!
A good leadership style is something that every effective leader must have in order to succeed, but identifying what that entails or does not entails might be difficult to understand. Most of the research on leadership focuses on the exemplary, best practices, and positive attributes of effective and successful leaders. This article talks about a new approach to learn leadership using lessons from bad leadership. That is the lessons to be learned by examining leaders who have not effectively exercised their power, authority, or influence.
What are the functions which a leader does to establish as a leader? What are the activities undertaken by them to become great leaders, rather revolutionary leaders? The most important tasks done by a leader in all situations are defining the vision, mission, and goals, leading the team, administrative functions, motivating followers, decision making and conflict resolution, and continuous development.
Have you ever resonated that there seem to be as many different ways to lead people as there have been great leaders? When we recall the success of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte to Steve Jobs and Jack Welch, we also notice that they all used different approaches that were suitable to their specific situations and circumstances. Over the last century, researchers and psychologists have developed simple ways to describe the “Styles of leadership” and in this section, we will explore these commonly known leadership styles.
Participative leadership is one of the most effective styles and creates higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale. The democratic leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members. Learn more about this leadership style and situations when it is effective.
Narrative leadership is interpreted as the leader who aspires to construct leadership by telling stories. Leadership is a task of persuasion, of winning people’s minds and hearts. Storytelling is thus inherently suited for the task of leadership. Learn about the narrative leadership style and how to use this style to inspire and motivate followers or to manage change.
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