Title: (Optional) Identify the benefits and limitations of leadership styles.
Course: Make It Your Business (12151-6) > Section: Exploring Ethics and Management

Identification should consider the effects on business and on the employer-employee relationship of leadership styles, such as

- autocratic—characterized by giving clear and precise directions as to what is to be done; employees do not make decisions
- democratic—characterized by encouraging workers to share their ideas and allowing them to make some of the decisions
- laissez-faire —characterized by giving little or no direction to the employees
- situational—characterized by selecting a style that fits the circumstances of the moment
- servant leadership—characterized by empowering and developing people first; they show humility and are authentic stewards who work for the good of the whole
- parental—characterized by a dominant leader behaving in a paternal or maternal manner toward workers who are treated as members of a family.

Identification should reflect the most appropriate management style for

- resolving conflict between co-workers, with other managers, with customers, and with vendors
- making decisions
- setting goals
- creating a healthy work environment
- navigating the political environment of the workplace.

Process/Skill Questions:

- Why is it helpful to identify leadership styles?
- What practices might be important to create in response to each leadership style?
- What affects an individual’s tendency to develop one leadership style over another?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of different leadership styles?
- Why might a leader choose to adopt a leadership style that may be different from their natural tendencies?
- What leadership styles are reflected in the design and delivery of an SBE?

Teacher Resource:

- FBLA Competitive Event - Leadership