SAMIN UROOJ
EP1830034
LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
ASSIGNMENT 03
BSPA 4TH YEAR
UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI
QUESTION:
Describe each type of leadership with real life example. Give
at least 2 examples of each type in your own words.
1. DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP:
This leadership style is referred to as “Participative leadership”. Even if these
leaders are technically higher on the organization chart, they emphasize working
together and actively involve their teams in the decision-making process.
Democratic leaders value ideas and input from others, and encourage discussion
about those contributions. You might be a democratic leader if you think the best
meetings are the ones where everyone has an equal chance to weigh in.
Democratic leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles because it
allows lower-level employees to participate in the decision making.
Examples:
Muhtar Kent: Known as a democratic/participative leader, Kent is CEO and
chairman of the board at Coca-Cola. He has gained a reputation of looking for
contribution from others on key choices. Kent has a comprehensive style that
mirrors his obligation to diversity. As CEO, Kent built collaborative
management teams to address slowing sales growth and tackled challenges
from global competitors, reflecting democratic styles.
George Washington: During the American revolution, unlike the troops who
were commanding, Washington was notably democratic when guiding the US
government. He showed early signs of his democratic leadership style by
appointing strong leaders to his staff. His decision not to serve a third term
exemplified a democratic leader who knows when to pass the torch.
2. AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP:
Autocratic leaders view themselves as having absolute power and make decisions
on behalf of their subordinates. They dictate not only what needs to be done, but
also how those tasks should be accomplished. In this leadership style, the leader
makes decision without taking input from anyone who reports to them.
Employees are neither considered nor consulted prior to any decision, and they
are expected to follow to the decision. An autocratic leader thinks that it is better
to take important decisions alone, group discussions and brainstorming is a waste
of time. He dislikes it when employees question his decisions—when he has said
something, that’s final.
Example:
Leona Helmsley: Leona Helmsley was recognized for her harsh and
authoritarian leadership within the Helmsley hotel empire. By the
beginning of 1989 she directly controlled 23 hotels in her husband’s chain.
She was undeniably strict in her management of the company. She was
even titled as the “Queen of mean”.
Donald Trump: Being the key decision maker of the Trump Organization, he
chose to have all the power of the organization rest on his own shoulders.
Despite – like Leona Helmsley – demanding high standards from his
employees (and firing anyone not up to scratch), he also offered high
salaries as an incentive, as many employees claimed his management style
was strict but fair.
3. LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERSHIP:
The French term “laissez fair” literally means to “let them do”. The Laissez-
Faire or Free-Rein is the leadership style wherein the leader gives full freedom to
his subordinates to act on their own. It is the direct opposite of
autocratic leadership. Instead of a single leader making all decisions for an
organization, group or team, laissez-faire leaders make few decisions. It believe in
empowering employees by trusting them to work but it can limit their
development and overlook critical company growth opportunities. Therefore, it is
important this leadership is kept some monitoring and checking.
Example:
Andrew Mellon: A brilliant innovator, Mellon is the perfect example of a
20th-century laissez faire American leader. Mellon embodies the laissez
faire leader because not only that he believed in choosing talented and
expert individuals to run business, but he also opposed government
intervention in the form of tariffs and other regulations.
Queen Victoria: During the Victorian period in UK, phrases such as
“Heaven helps those who help themselves” were often used to promote
laissez-faire leadership style. The era was also known as age of
individualism, as many people worked hard using their own skills and
talents to help create one of the world’s richest and strongest countries
at the time.
4. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP:
Transformational leadership is a leadership style in which leaders encourage,
inspire and motivate employees to innovate and create change that will help
grow and shape the future success of the company. The role of the leader is to
constantly push employees outside of their comfort zone. This is a highly
encouraged form of leadership among growth minded companies because it
motivates employees to see what they are capable of. In its ideal form, it creates
valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing
followers into leaders.
Example:
Martin Luther King Jr.: Martin Luther King Jr.’s struggle to end racism in
America and his passion for justice and his methods of protesting gathered
worldwide support. He encouraged the masses to join the civil rights
movement in America and ensured that the movement was not just about
him or others who were prominent, but about humanity.
Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs is one of the most iconic transformational leaders
the world has ever seen. He constantly challenged all his employees at
Apple to think beyond what has already been done and made them
create products that the world did not even know it needed.
5. TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP:
Transactional leadership is the style of leadership in which managers reward their
employees for precisely the work they do. Transactional leaders promote
compliance by followers through both rewards and punishments. Through a
rewards and punishments system, transactional leaders are able to keep followers
motivated for the short-term. This type of leadership is effective in crisis and
emergency situations, as well as for projects that need to be carried out in a
specific way.
Examples:
Bill Gates: Bill Gates is a great example, a transactional leader. As a
transactional leader, he used to visit new product teams and ask difficult
questions until he was satisfied that the teams were on track and
understood the goal.
Gen. Norman H. Schwarzkopf: Former commander of U.S. Central
Command who was the master organizer of human resources, he was
responsible for tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Operation Desert Storm
back in 1990. Schwarzkopf led the NATO coalition to a decisive victory.
Under his leadership, thousands of lives were saved.
