Leadership Styles and Approaches in Organizations

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Community management and organization
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Introduction
Leadership is determined by how a leader manages and guides his or her followers’ in
order for them to meet their targets and objectives. Diverse scholars have a different definition of
the term “leadership”. According to Sethibe & Steyn (2015) leadership is an ability of an
individual to guide and influence followers or other members of an organization in order for
them to achieve a set goal. Mokuoane (2014) also defined leadership as a “function of a person
knowing himself or herself, building trust among colleagues, having a vision that is well
communicated and taking effective actions to realize the leadership potential. Furthermore,
Glynn & DeJordy (2010) also defined leadership as an art of motivating a group of people to
achieve common goals. The essay will focus on Mokuoan’s definition of the term “leadership”.
Leadership Context
Leaders deploy various leadership styles or approaches depending on the situation of an
organization. Furthermore, the various approaches to leadership relate leadership behavior and
leadership style into the context in which leaders occurs. The different styles or approaches are
required in different situations and leadership involves knowing which particular style to use in a
particular situation at a particular time. “Situational leadership” is the most recognized and
desired leadership approach in many organizations. According to McCleskey, (2014) situational
leadership style emphasizes that “leaders need to understand the essential characteristics of the
organization and adapt their own attitudes and behavior to fit the situation”. Other common
leadership approaches or styles for managing employees include transformation, transactional
leadership, laissez-faire leadership, bureaucratic leadership, democratic leadership and autocratic
leadership. In autocratic leadership, leaders make decisions without getting inputs from
employees. In democratic leadership, employees are involved in the process of decision-making