Leadership Philosophies that Will Make your Life Easier
Being a leader, no matter how good the title sounds, will never be an easy task. It entails tons of responsibilities and requires qualities that can come off stressful for many. You must work with people from all walks of life. These differences can be taxing if you are not prepared physically, emotionally, and mentally.
This is why leaders must know how to adapt to diversity, and one way to do that is by applying different leadership philosophies.
What is leadership philosophy?
Great leaders utilise a variety of tools to maximize their effectiveness and impact. And creating philosophies is one of the most effective ways of developing leadership skills.
Leadership philosophy acts as a guide or reference in leading a team. It serves as a personal roadmap that will help you create a foundation for ethical decision-making and guide you through dealing with your members’ life and work-related concerns.
It is defined as a set of beliefs, values, principles, and goals that will strongly influence your interpretation of reality and guide your understanding in training your team. Thus it varies depending on who the leader is and how they perceive leadership.
Types of leadership philosophies
As mentioned, leadership philosophies vary from one leader to another. Therefore, there are various types of leadership philosophies you can use in guiding your team.
Democratic leadership philosophy
From the Greek word demos (people) and kratos (rule), democracy is defined as a system where the people's voice rules. The same thing applies to democratic leadership.
This leadership philosophy depends on the whole team when making decisions. Leaders who practice this philosophy almost always ask and consider their team’s thoughts and opinions.
Autocratic leadership philosophy
An autocratic leadership philosophy is quite the opposite of democratic leadership. This philosophy situates all the decision and implementation power on the leader. The team is there to execute the leader’s plan, practices, and processes. Furthermore, the team is not consulted during the decision-making process.
Laissez-faire leadership philosophy
If you are looking for a balance between democratic and autocratic leadership philosophies, you can find the answer with Laissez-faire. Using this leadership philosophy allows the leader to direct and give little guidance to their team while letting them work how and when they want to. This type of leadership also permits the leader to focus on high-level matters rather than micromanaging their members.
Strategic leadership philosophy
Leaders who want to adopt strategic leadership philosophy should know how to divide their focus between high-level operations and team guidance. This philosophy is about maintaining individual responsibility for organizational processes and offering guidance to their team simultaneously.
Transformational leadership philosophy
Progress is what matters the most for transformational leaders. This leadership philosophy focuses on constant evolvement and establishing new benchmarks and goals. Leaders who use this type of leadership usually take their time in creating pathways and developing new practices or processes to improve the team's overall work and, eventually, their success.
Transactional leadership philosophy
As the name suggests, transactional leadership philosophy depends on a series of incentives to motivate employees to reach their goals. Transactional leaders have established pre-determined prices or rewards if their team meets a goal.
You do not have to pick just one leadership philosophy. You can adapt two, three, or even all of these philosophies if that will help you lead your team towards success. After all, your team’s goals may be similar, but their upbringing and work processes or behavior are undoubtedly different from one another. Thus, you can apply different leadership styles to manage everyone in your team.
Learn more about leadership philosophies with Corporate Learning Solutions
Leadership and management courses are necessary for a team’s development. And we, at Corporate Learning Solutions, offer that.
We can provide you with the knowledge and skills to help you find the best leadership style suitable for your team. If you want to learn more about us and what we offer, you can check our website at www.corplearn.com.au.
