Leadership Styles -Part 3

In this post we will discuss about the different types of leadership styles. First the broad groupos and then the sub groups of the same .

Directive and assisting styles
In essence, this type of flexible leadership approach which, in management parlance, is called situational leadership, stipulates that there is no single best way of influencing people. The style of leadership that would be effective with a group of subordinates, or even a single subordinate for that matter, depends on the degree of readiness the group manifests in responding to the exhortations of the leader. Paul Hersey and Kenneth H. Blanchard have elabo¬rately described all aspects of situational leadership in their perceptive book titled Management of Organisational Behaviour. However, the basic stipulations are explained here in simple language.
Style, being a form of behaviour, is divided into two categories, namely, directive behaviour and assisting behaviour. In directive behaviour style the leader spells out the duties and responsibilities of the subordinates. In other words, he tells them what to do, how to do it, when to do it, where to do it and who should do it. Directive behaviour essentially involves one-way communication¬ from the leader to the subordinates. It is not that the leader is high-handed or thinks poorly of his subordinates. Though he is not much inclined to take the subordinates' feelings into consid¬eration, his main concern is to see that the given assignment is done properly. On the other hand, in assisting behaviour the leader establishes two-way communication with a view to understanding the subordinates' point of view and assisting them in accomplishing the assignment. Here the subordinates feel free to approach the leader when they get stuck balf-way and need either guidance or encouragement. Directive behaviour is most common among police officers.
Four types of styles
Since the aforementioned two behaviour types are quite distinct, by subdividing each of them into high and low' categories, we obtain four types of styles:
Style A : High directive+ low assistance behaviour
Style B : High directive + high assistance behaviour
Style C : Low directive+ high assistance behaviour
Style D : Low directive+ low assistance behaviour

Style: A –Leader
 gives clear and precise orders
 spells out the results that he wants to be achieved and expects the job to be done exactly as he wants it without much concern about the dif¬ficulties that the subordinates may encounter or about their options/ suggestions
 also exercises close supervision.
Style: B- Leader
 gives clear directions
 but is prepared to listen to the subordinates in order to understand their difficulties and readily gives them a helping hand
 he almost sells his decisions.
Style: C- Leader
 is not snappy about the directions
 he describes the task and goes out of the way to exchange views and to be of help
 he virtually participates in the implementation of the task.
Style: D -Leader
 neither spells out the assignment in all its aspects nor does he show much keenness to understand the prob-lems of the subordinates or to render them assistance
 For all practical purposes, he delegates the responsibility to subordinates.

Leadership needs to be flexible depending upon the people tobe lead . Inthat sense the styles of subordinates also assumes much significance. We will see this aspect in a subsequent post.