Leadership Styles

This report discusses the concept of leadership and the different leadership styles. It analyzes the leadership styles exhibited by the team leaders in the case study 'The Parable of the Sadhu'. The report explores autocratic, laissez faire, and participative leadership and their strengths and weaknesses. It concludes with an overview of the findings.

Running head: LEADERSHIP STYLES
LEADERSHIP STYLES
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The following report is based on the case study titled “The Parable of the Sadhu” and
comprises of the varied leadership styles followed by the team leaders of the case study. The
report begins with a description of the concept of leadership and the types of leadership that
exists in diverse literatures. The report then directly analyzes the type of leadership skills that
can be identified among the team leaders of the case study. Finally, a conclusion is provided
as an overview of the entire content and findings of the report.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Autocratic Leadership............................................................................................................3
Laissez Faire Leadership........................................................................................................6
Participative Leadership.........................................................................................................8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Leadership can be considered as a research area as well as a practical skill that
comprises of the ability to guide common people, teams, organizations and so on by an
individual or organizations (Silva 2016). Leadership in the context of the chosen case study
can be described as the process through which an individual can influence the behaviour of
other individuals in order to accomplish certain objectives. Specialist literature focuses on
diverse leadership styles ranging from autocratic, laissez faire, transformational, visionary,
cross-cultural, facilitative, democratic and such others (Nanjundeswaraswamy and Swamy
2014). These styles have evolved from diverse experiences, philosophies and personalities
and are applied in accordance with the situations at hand. For instance, in case of an
emergency, autocratic or laissez faire or even a democratic leadership can help steer the
situation in the right direction.
Similarly, in the case study, the arrival of the Sadhu raises an emergency among the
varied trekkers. The team leaders involved had taken different approaches to deal with the
situation. The New Zealander assisted the Sadhu and brought him to the other team leaders so
that he might receive the required help, thereby ordering the other team leaders to act on the
situation. This shows traits of autocratic leadership. Stephen, the anthropologist
accompanying Bowen, portrays the qualities of a laissez faire leader, while the Sherpa,
Pasang depicts attributes of a participatory leader. The association of these leadership styles
to these characters of the case study is further elaborated in the report in relation to relevant
literature.

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Discussion
Autocratic Leadership
Autocratic leadership, also recognized as authoritarian leadership, is a style of
leadership that is characterized by the control of one individual, the leader, over all the
decisions within a team or certain activities concerning a group of people (Giltinane 2013).
The autocratic leaders tend to rely their decisions on their individual judgments and ideas,
thereby rarely accepting the insights of the fellow team members or followers. The benefits
of such a method lies in the fact that the decisions taken are rapid, while the demerits
involves the lack of collaboration and consideration provided to the fellow members or
followers. This sort of leadership is viewed in the approach of the New Zealander in the case
study. The New Zealander had decided on his own to bring the Sadhu to the trekkers,
however, he decided to not take over the responsibility of the welfare and proper medical
help that the Sadhu required at that point of time. The fact that he had imposed his decision
on the other trekkers gives rise to the concept of autocratic leadership. Had the New
Zealander been genuinely concerned with the well being of the Sadhu, he would have
participated in providing proper assistance to the Sadhu.
Different styles of leaderships comprises of several strengths and weaknesses.
Similarly, the attributes of the autocratic leadership style can be divided between strengths
and weaknesses. The strengths of the autocratic leaders lie in the cases of emergencies, as
swift decision making skills are required in such situations (Allio 2013). In a crisis, people
generally cannot think with clarity and hence, cannot come to any conclusion .The autocratic
leaders have this ability to come to conclusions without much delegation, thereby
appropriately provide solutions to urgent cases. The condition of the Sadhu was deteriorating,
hence the New Zealander decided to bring him to the people who could aid him accordingly.

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Such autocratic behaviour did eventually contribute in bringing back the consciousness of the
Sadhu.
Another aspect that can be considered as a benefit of the autocratic leadership is the
clarity in the focus of the leaders towards their goals. The autocratic leaders rarely waver
from their predetermined objectives and employ every means under their control to attain the
desired results. The New Zealander also behaved in accordance to this conception. His goal
was to reach the summit and since the condition of the Sadhu would only delay that purpose,
he opted to leave the Sadhu in the care of the narrator as they had porters and Sherpas to their
aid. The outcome was beneficial to both the New Zealander and the Sadhu. The New
Zealander reached the summit within the set time and the Sadhu recovered under the
assistance of Stephen and the Sherpa.
However, the autocratic leadership also has certain flaws that fails to make this
leadership style a desirable one. The fact that the leaders are so focused on their goals, they
fail to consider the concerns and conditions of the fellow members. This leads to negative
impacts on the fellow members or associates of the leaders (Khan et al. 2015). The fact that
the New Zealander has not considered the condition of the narrator’s group or the fact that
whether they will be able to aid the Sadhu implies one of the negative traits of the New
Zealander. The lack of consideration of the autocratic leaders also wipes out creativity from
the groups and diminishes the productivity levels of the fellow members eventually. The
instances from history can be gathered to understand the fate of autocratic leaders. The
oppression and lack of consideration towards the fellow members only gives rise to the
feelings of aggression towards the leaders (Mohiuddin 2017). Hence the autocratic style of
leadership cannot be considered as the appropriate form of leadership that must be followed.

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The New Zealander imbibed the attributes of an autocratic leader in a situation which
can be considered as an emergency. The fact that he behaved as an autocratic leader in this
specific situation does not necessarily designate him as an autocratic leader. The case study is
a short story retelling the incidents that occurred on the trek taken up by the narrator and
hence portrays on a narrow aspect of the New Zealander’s personality. The identification of
an autocratic leader must be done on the basis of the consecutive decisions he or she makes
that affects people’s lives.
Laissez Faire Leadership
The term “laissez faire” is French meaning “leave alone” or “let it be”. The leaders
adhering to this style of leadership often form groups and trust on the capabilities of the team
members to solve the issues in an appropriate manner (Nawaz and Khan 2016). The
leadership is non-authoritarian in style and does not force the members to participate in the
task allotted or the situation. The most appropriate character of the case study that adheres to
this style of leadership is the anthropologist, Stephen. When the narrator’s team received the
Sadhu, it was Stephen and the Sherpa, Pasang, who decided to take the responsibility of the
Sadhu on their own. It must be mentioned that Stephen never coerced the fellow members to
share the responsibility of the Sadhu’ well being. He did his part and did not wait around for
the others to participate, thereby leading to an instance of the laissez faire leadership.
The laissez faire leaders have a vision and an aim to follow and they attempt to reach
such goals with or without the help from the fellow members of their teams or organizations.
The leaders provide the member with the required tools and provisions for the attainment of
the collective goal, however, does not convince or coerce them to perform in accordance with
the vision of the leader. One of the prime aspects of this leadership style is to let the members
perform in accordance with their own needs and concerns (Sharma and Singh 2013). This
enhances the creativity levels of the members and their production levels. The aspects of the

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leadership that directly related to Stephen is the fact that he decided to act on his own to
attain both the goals of reaching the summit and saving the Sadhu from dying without care.
The venture did create more hurdles and hindrances in the path of Stephen, however, it has
also improved his capabilities and projected him as the better human being, who does not
only aid the ones in need but also achieves the personal goals previously determined by the
character.
The benefits of this style of leadership lies in the fact that it often triggers productivity
when the members and leaders of the group perform in accordance with the requirements and
separately within their own creative spaces. The members with high levels of expertise
benefit most from this style of leadership, since they require the least amount of assistance
from their leaders (Yang 2015). The certain drawbacks of this style of leadership observed in
diverse cases is the fact that the motivation of the groups often disintegrates due to
fragmented connection between the team members (Buch, Martinsen and Kuvaas 2015). The
fact that the Sadhu was only assisted by Stephen and the Sherpa had slowed them down
during the trekking process and thereby imbibed within them a feeling a bitterness which
could have been avoided if the all the characters of the story had assisted the Sadhu or even
Stephen to ensure the well being of the Sadhu.
The scope of the laissez faire leadership style is immensely dependent on the
subordinates or departments involved. The individual efforts of all the components of a group
leads to the success of the goal or objective, previously determined. However, it must be
noted that delegation is required in these cases (Skogstad et al. 2015). The members of the
group left to perform in accordance with their merits shall not always provide genuine
outcomes, hence the leadership qualities are required to some extent to guide the members
and collaborate the efforts to reach the ascertained objective.

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The character of Stephen in this aspect does not entirely pertain to the laissez faire
leadership; however, it does imbibe certain traits of the aforementioned leadership styles.
Stephen thrived as a leader as he has inherent qualities of aiding the ones in needs, which is
also reflected in the case of the Sadhu. The leadership he provided came at a crucial point in
the story. The fact that Stephen did not expect the help of his fellow team mates also projects
in him the attributes of the laissez faire leadership style. It must also be noted that when
Stephen reached the summit, he implies his disappointment in the narrator and claims that the
Sadhu might eventually die. In spite of knowing the fact that all his efforts to save, the Sadhu
might ultimately fail in case of the death of the Sadhu; Stephen still decided to help him. This
fact portrays Stephen in a commendable light as he has the capability to adhere by the
decision made by him on previous occasion. Stephen relies more on the means than the ends
of a project and thereby displays inherent leadership qualities along with humane qualities.
Participative Leadership
The concept of participative leadership is closely related to the democratic style of
leadership. In this particular style of leadership, the leaders base their decisions on the
opinions and inputs from the subordinates of the group or team; however, the concerned
leader makes the final decision. The traditional perspective towards this style of leadership
adheres to the hierarchical structure, while the contemporary outlook has evolved with time
and views the Participative leadership as a modern solution to delegate problems and resolve
them rapidly by taking into account the varied views of the members (Antonakis and House
2013). The ultimate aim of the Participative leader is the means by which the issue can be
resolved. The character that follows this style of leadership in the case study is the Sherpa,
Pasang, as he does not directly carry out the actions decided, to achieve the goal of saving the
Sadhu, but had assisted Stephen thoroughly.

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The role of the Participative leader in any project is to accommodate the capabilities
of the members of the team or group in accordance with the set objectives to resolve the
issues or attain certain aims (Kaner 2014). Similarly, Pasang aimed at aiding Stephen to help
the Sadhu along with the sherpas. The role of Pasang is even more relatable to the role of the
Participative leader as Pasang is the leader of the sherpas as well. The fact that Pasang is the
one who has directed the aiding of the Sadhu with Stephen as well as while carrying the
Sadhu down from the summit, entails his skills as a leader as he stuck to the end with the
Sadhu to aid and assist him.
The strengths of the Participative leaders lies in the fact that they consider the benefits
and outlooks of the fellow members before deciding on acting on the occasion. The fact that
the subordinates are allowed to take part in the decision making process, provides them with
a sense of empowerment and thereby enhances their capabilities. The participative leaders
operate with the help of proper communication among the group members and the sharing of
the knowledge and information available (Tannenbaum, Weschler and Massarik 2013).
Pasang accurately follows such traits with his group of sherpas, which ultimately ensures the
smooth functioning of the group of the sherpas. The Participative leaders also encourage the
collaboration of ideas and synthesize them in order to attain the most appropriate solution to
the issues or goals involved. It is important for these types of leaders to be approachable in
nature and have clarity in accordance with the objectives determined by the group or
organization.
The procedure of the Participative leadership can sometimes prove to be tedious since
it requires the collaboration of the ideas of the members with the leaders. The collaboration
and synthesis process often becomes a disadvantage and hindrances in the way of swift
decision making abilities. The differences in opinions can further contribute to the delay in
decision making process. Taken together, the advantages and disadvantages of the

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Participative leadership adheres to the modern and contemporary needs of the organizations
as it improves the productivity levels of both the individuals and the organizations (Kibbe
2015).
Pasang in this aspect can be considered as the genuine Participative leader in the
course of the case study. The purpose of aiding the Sadhu in the time of a crisis and
considering the adverse weather conditions, the sherpa leader proved to be not only a true
leader but also a genuine human being. Pasang shared the responsibilities of Stephen and
provided a solution even at the end of the case study when the Sadhu was taken down by the
sherpas. The endeavor was extremely difficult considering the conditions in which the crisis
had risen, however, Pasang performed his best and ensure that the members under him also
contributes to the cause directly.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be inferred from the above discussion that the characters in the case study
pertain to different styles of leadership in accordance with their perspective of the situation
and their inherent nature. The leaders found in the case study were the New Zealander,
Stephen and the Sherpa, Pasang. The three leaders are distinct in nature however, shared a
common goal of saving the Sadhu from death in such adverse conditions. While the New
Zealander had contributed in the advent of the crisis, Stephen and Pasang ensured the
completion of the set goal and the resolvement of the crisis to a certain extent. The Fact that
the New Zealander had just contributed in allocating the Sadhu to the best possible aid he
could get in such situations, ascertains his traits of an autocratic leaders, who is concerned
about the resolvement of the issue but does not undertake the responsibility of the means to
resolve the same. On the other hand, Stephen and Pasang carry out the responsibility of
ensuring the well being of the Sadhu, thereby portraying the attributes of the laissez faire and

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Participative leadership. The aim of the report was to ascertain the effectiveness of the varied
leadership styles projected in the case study, which has been done successfully.

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References
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(pp. 3-33). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Buch, R., Martinsen, Ø.L. and Kuvaas, B., 2015. The destructiveness of laissez-faire
leadership behavior: The mediating role of economic leader–member exchange relationships.
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Kaner, S., 2014. Facilitator's guide to participatory decision-making. John Wiley & Sons.
Khan, M.S., Khan, I., Qureshi, Q.A., Ismail, H.M., Rauf, H., Latif, A. and Tahir, M., 2015.
The styles of leadership: A critical review. Public Policy and Administration Research, 5(3),
pp.87-92.
Kibbe, M.R., 2015. Leadership theories and styles. In Leadership in Surgery (pp. 49-57).
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Mohiuddin, Z.A., 2017. Influence of Leadership Style on employees performance: evidence
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review. Leadership, 16, pp.1-7.

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study. Clear International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, 4(3).
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Skogstad, A., Aasland, M.S., Nielsen, M.B., Hetland, J., Matthiesen, S.B. and Einarsen, S.,
2015. The relative effects of constructive, laissez-faire, and tyrannical leadership on
subordinate job satisfaction. Zeitschrift für Psychologie.
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