Leadership and Communication Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leadership and Communication - Term Paper Example Each leader possesses a unique leadership style and/or philosophy and communicates in a particular way depending on numerous factors such as their individual personalities, their levels of experience, education, or training, which greatly determines how followers react to leadership (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson,2013). Three major leadership styles that have persisted over the years include the Authoritarian, Democratic as well as Laissez-Fair; the autocratic leader establishes clear guidelines specifying tasks and procedures for accomplishing the given tasks thereby providing guidance for his or her followers. Nonetheless, the autocratic leaders make their independent decisions without involving their followers and are viewed as controlling, bossy and dictatorial thus may undermine the motivation of the workforce in accomplishing their specific tasks. Unlike the autocratic style, the democratic style of leadership entails a consideration of group input in the decision-making process ; precisely, democratic leaders value the need to engage followers in decision-making by listening to their suggestions. Consequently, the democratic leader makes his/her followers feel more engaged, valued and respected, which eventually makes them even more creative and motivated to contribute to the success of the organization; nonetheless, this style may also undermine performance due to disagreements and long consultation sessions. Unlike the other two leadership styles, the Laissez-Fair is suitable for work environments that have responsible group members that can work productively on their own without any form of supervision.