5 Unique Leadeship Styles

An effective leader is a person who posseses the ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members (House, 2004). An organizations success or failure depends on mindset of the leader. To be an effective leader one can display or possess several unique leadership styles. Five specific leadership styles that are mentioned in the readings were charismatic, authoritarian, inspirational, transformational, and situational.

Charismatic leaders have the ability to inspire and motivate people based on their demeanor or personality. A charismatic leader who made a powerful impact on the world in a negative way was Adolf Hitler. During the 1920’s Germany’s economy was at an all-time low. The citizens of Germany were trying to recover from the aftermath of the First World War. The unemployment rate in Germany was more than 40 percent, and the country was in a disastrous state. Adolf Hitler realized his country needed to regain the pride that it once had. Hitler inspired a nation through passionate speeches and propaganda to rise from the ashes like the mythological Phoenix and inspired a nation to believe in themselves and Hitler.

Authoritarian leadership is characterized by control and total dominance. Many authoritarian leaders believe that others should follow them simply because they have power and authority. Authoritarian leaders will often use force to prove their point or to persuade others to agree with them. An example of an authoritative leader is

Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan was one of the greatest military leaders who ever lived. He united independent mongul tribles and created one of the and conqured most of asia and was the founder of the Mongul Empire. Khan was so effective because he destoyed or disposed of anyone who opposed his leadership. For example, one of Khan’s officers challened him about a military decision that he had earlier made and Khan had his tongue cut out. Khan believed that only one person could be in charge and if people opposed him he would have them killed or tortured until they had a mindchange. The Mongol Empire ended up ruling, or at least briefly conquering, large parts of modern day China, Mongolia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, South Korea, North Korea, and Kuwait.

Inspirational leadership is the ability to inspire people to reach great heights of performance and success. Passion, purpose, listening, and meaning help make a leader inspirational (Heathfield, 1996). A leader who has displayed this particular type of leadership trait is Pastor Ben Johnson. Pastor Johnson is the lead pastor at the Atlanta Church of Christ. Pastor Johnson has a unique talent for helping and motivating people when they are dispirited or discouraged. For example, two weeks ago a couple in the congregation was going a horrific situation that only prayer could change. When Pastor Johnson heard about their dilemma acted quickly. Immediately after the sermon Pastor Johnson sat down with the couple to figure out how he could help. Pastor Johnson listened, prayed, and opened the bible with the couple for about an hour. After the couple had finished talking with Pastor Johnson their faith was rekindled and they believed that God was going to work everything out. Pastor Johnson is a great mentor because he always has time to listen to people no matter how busy he might be.

Another leadership style is transformational. Transformational leadership occurs when leaders elevate the interest and generate awareness and acceptance of the mission and purpose among their group or subordinates. An example of a transformational leader is Joe Clark. Clark was given the challenge to increase test scores at Eastside High School. When he first introduced himself to the staff, he stated that his only role was to improve achievement scores on the Basic Skills Test. Mr. Clark was going to achieve his goal by any means necessary, even if it meant stepping over staff and faculty members. Overtime Mr. Clark had to change his domineering approach and had to learn to listen to his staff and faculty members. Mr. Clark had to trust his staff members and allow them to grow and to take risks themselves. During his tenure at Eastside, Joe Clark motivated the staff and students by using unique strategies and by having very high expectations.

A situational leader is someone who can adapt into different leadership styles to fit the situation. A great example of a situational leader is Mrs. Williams, the principal at Stone Mountain High School. Mrs. Williams has a natural ability to change her leadership style in an instant. Mrs. Williams can get on the level with a disgruntled ninth- grader who is upset about his or her school schedule and can deal with a group of CEO’s who want to establish a partnership with the school. Mrs. Williams knows how to change her leadership style to adapt to any situation hostile or friendly.

References

House, R.J.(2004) Culture, Leadership, and Organizations:

The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, SAGE Publications,

Thousand Oaks, 2004. Retrieved on March 21, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership

Heathfield, S.M.(1996). Leadership Inspiration. Retrieved

March 12, 2007, from http://humanresources.about.com

od/leadership/a/leader_inspire.htm