Question

Every business bears a loss. Explain in your views what leadership styles are inappropriate to make a business flop? Also explain the same in terms of the controlling strategies? in 1500 words

Answer 1

A Leadership styles are inappropriate to make a business flop:

A good leadership style is something that every entrepreneur must have in order to succeed, but identifying what that entails may not always be clear-cut for everyone. So how can you find which leadership style might be best for you? Start by taking a look at these 11 leadership styles to avoid if you want to succeed.

1. Avoid Providing Too Much Info

You look like a know-it-all. People are less likely to share their ideas, because you will just roll over them with your own “better” ideas. The Fix: Next time you have a better idea, don't just share it. Instead, invite your colleagues to build on the idea and come up with an even better solution.

2. Avoid Using "But" or "However"

These words simply mean that you don't approve. “I like your idea, but...” “I will consider what you are saying, however....” Your intention may be to try to soften the blow. But in reality you are not. Instead of jabbing a knife into their gut, you are stabbing it into their back. The Fix: Stop using those words, and don't look for another work-around to pass down your criticisms. Just stop using the words.

3. Avoid Sharing Your “Smart” Stories

If you add to discussions by sharing the smart stuff you have done, you are pointing to an inferiority complex. You feel you need to puff out your chest in order to get noticed. No one likes a bragger. The Fix: Recognize that the most successful leaders have an “air” around them. They don't need to brag and show off. They simply bring confidence to the table.

4. Avoid Communicating When Angry

Sharing your thoughts when you are angry can be dangerous. Emotions will cause outbursts and may do irreparable harm. The Fix: Remove yourself physically from a situation that makes you angry. Then give yourself a 24-hour break. (You need to get one sleep cycle in.) You will be in a better position to talk when your emotions are not dominating.

5. Avoid Withholding Helpful Knowledge

Keeping secrets that adversely affect other people's performance is another sign of an inferiority complex. And when people find out you held them back, you will lose their trust. The Fix: Ask yourself what else you can share to help others. Then share it.

Want more leadership tips? Check these out:

• 10 Unexpected Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills
• Jack Zenger's Top 10 Leadership Rules
• Identifying Good Managers Through Leadership Competencies

6. Avoid Failing to Recognize Individuals

This is simply another version of “all for me, none for you.” You are keeping all the credit, and others don't feel that you value them. The Fix: When a project is completed successfully, publicly recognize the individual contributions everyone made.

7. Avoid Claiming Credit You Don’t Deserve

This may be even worse than not giving credit to others. In this case, you are actually stealing it from them. Not only are you a jerk, you are a thief, too. The Fix: It is far better to give someone else credit for something you have done than the reverse.

8. Avoid Making Excuses

The buck stops with leaders. If a leader makes an excuse, they lose credibility and integrity. When Bill Clinton was president and had the Monica situation, what were your thoughts about his excuses and denials? (And I quote “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.”) Kind of lost his credibility and integrity, right? Don't do the same thing. The Fix: Next time you are thinking of an excuse, instead make it a declaration of what you will permanently fix.

9. Avoid Refusing to Apologize

Everyone makes mistakes. And everyone hates someone who can't admit to their own. The Fix: Apologize quickly, apologize fully, and mention an action that you are going to take to fix – or at least improve – the situation.

10. Avoid Not Listening

This is a problem of many leaders (and something I admittedly struggle with). It is a bad problem. It says only one thing, loud and clear, to the person speaking: that you don't care. The Fix: Remove yourself from physical distractions (e.g., e-mail, crackberry, etc.), lock eyes with the person, and repeat back the stuff they tell you.

11. Avoid Punishing the Messenger.

Bad news can be reported from any source, and bad leaders attack the source. These leaders lose trust, and bad news gets pushed under the rug. The Fix: Recognize that bad news is critical to your success, because you need it in order to improve and fix problems. The next time bad news is reported to you, be extremely grateful that that person was willing to tell you.

Dancing your way through all the leadership styles that you should avoid may take some practice, but you will become a more effective leader, once you are able to do it and focus more attention on what it takes to be a great leader.

John Quincy Adams said it best, when he reminded us: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” If you fall short of that – and many entrepreneurs make the mistake of doing so – then your business will suffer.

The controlling strategies

1) Autocratic Management Style

Let’s get this strictly (and old-fashioned) management style out of the way first – and quickly! Though it is the best choice in certain extreme environments, this leadership method does little to leverage worker creativity and facilitate growth. It also carries with it substantial planning, communication, and oversight costs.

Definition

I prefer this simple autocrat definition: Any leader with a “Because I told you so…” mentality. Authoritative leadership means a manager takes complete control of (and responsibility for) a situation.

Application

This directive leadership style can suit your team when members have little or no experience. Of course, it also becomes necessary in high-risk fields. For example, firefighters parachuting out of airplanes into wildfires need to follow orders without question or delay.

If your situation calls for an authoritative management style, use the path-goal method of leadership. Set (and communicate) clear and immediate goals for your team. Ensure they know exactly how to carry out your instructions – and have all the resources they need. Everyone in your team should understand their roles and responsibilities – and how to handle any obstacles that may arise.

Depending on your work environment, you may find this leadership style works well in small doses – and in specifically-targeted cases.

In a manufacturing plant, for example, new workers must follow their supervisors’ instructions carefully (and without creativity) to avoid injuring themselves and others. Over time, however, these neophyte workers will grow into shift leaders. A smart manager would provide ongoing training/education opportunities, determine each worker’s level of expertise, and occasionally meet team members (away from heavy machinery) to get their feedback on procedures and systems.

As work teams gain skill and reliability, smart managers shift from strict, top-down methods to other, more flexible, leadership styles.

Suitability

This traditional (and often uncomfortable) leadership style does have its place. Subordinates need to obey instructions without question in many life-or-death environments:

• Military Deployments
• Search and Rescue Operations
• Heavy Industry
• Sensitive Laboratory Experiments
• First Responder Situations
• Emergency Rooms/Surgical Settings

Sometimes, complying without thinking or questioning authority figures creates the best outcomes for all stakeholders.

2) Affiliative Management Style

Affiliative managers promote connection and harmony between team members. They solve personality conflicts between team members, praise good work, and maintain healthy morale.

Definition

Management researchers associate the affiliative approach to leadership with the creation of trusting relationships. Imagine the faltering but talented team in the first act of your favorite sports movie. The coach comes in, helps everyone work together, and makes something great out of an impossible situation.

Application

Focus on relationships and collaboration during stressful transitions and peak output. Use affiliative management strategies after setbacks – and when personality conflicts damage productivity.

Use affiliative management when creating a new team from scratch (unlike authoritative management, which works best when introducing new workers into existing, high-risk environments). Give everyone time to learn their roles and work out the personality conflicts which naturally arise in the early stages of team development.

When reorganizing a department, take special care to understand how each team member works best.

Some people will want to work in the comfortable niches they created for themselves under previous systems and managers.

Others see transitions as opportunities for rapid change – and address their pet peeves.

Smart managers take things slowly. They challenge entrenched workers to adapt and help creative types remain patient.

Healthy change takes time.

Group cohesion requires trust, which is only earned over time. Affiliative leaders stand in the middle of the seesaw – leaning to one side or the other to create balance. They know everyone needs to feel a little uncomfortable during times of instability – but no one should feel out-of-place or unappreciated.

Suitability

Some managers believe poor performance goes unnoticed (or, at least, unchallenged) by affiliative managers. Use this style of leadership sparingly, just as you would the authoritative leadership style. In many ways, these two methods represent the two ends of the management spectrum.

Use extreme patience and tolerance to heal your team and get them back on track. Employ affiliative management techniques when team members need to identify their strengths and weaknesses, sort out their roles and responsibilities, and put aside their ego battles. When things start working smoothly again, transition into a more goal-based management style and challenge your team to increase their productivity and efficiency!

3) Coaching Management Style

Leaders and managers act as coaches to inspire, encourage, and guide their teams to greater outputs and efficiencies.

Definition

Coaching leaders balance authoritative and affiliative management styles. They make decisions themselves, but with feedback from the group. They facilitate positive interactions between team members but also let people know where they stand.

Application

The coaching model works best with maturing teams. For instance, once a new wilderness firefighter has been through a few seasons, they don’t need specific instructions. They need information about new technology, terrain, etc. but can be trusted to work independently – or even begin leading small groups.

Managers that work with new teams (or departments in transition) can shift from affiliative to coaching leadership styles once their teams get through the early phases of development (i.e. initial eagerness and personality conflicts). Once teams experience success and learn to work well together, they can benefit from a greater level of managerial expectation.

Smart leaders know when their teams have the cohesion and trust to handle new challenges – and new responsibilities.

Suitability

Coaching works best with employees who have demonstrated competency and earned their coworkers’ trust. Use this hybrid model to guide teams toward higher performance after using an extremely strict or lenient management style to accommodate new employees and difficult environments.

4) Democratic Management Style

Democratic leaders value listening, collaboration, and investment. They allow people time and space to create the best possible products and services.

Definition

Simply put, democratic leadership involves getting everyone’s consensus on decisions.

Application

If every voice is heard, leaders know they’re getting the most possible information and feedback. In situations that require the investment of all stakeholders (startup companies, for example), building consensus can mean the difference between success and failure. Projects—and even entire companies—in high-quality and high-tech markets can go big or go bust depending on employee engagement.

Suitability

Democratic leaders work best in situations where time and resources don’t limit brainstorming and debate. However, even teams in rigid and dangerous environments can benefit from occasional democratic decisions. A leader of a surgical team could encourage the group to choose the location of their next training retreat by vote – or just the location of an after-hours hangout.

5) Pacesetting Management Style

Pacesetting leaders use their experience in a certain market/niche to get the most they can from highly-motivated workers.

Definition

Often high achievers themselves, pacesetters lead by example and ask a lot from their followers. They set high standards, though they lead best by setting both short and long-term goals.

Application

Unlike other management styles, this strategy often involves restraining achievers with big egos to avoid burnout and increase sustainability. Leaders who embrace this method often use detailed performance metrics to get the best possible outputs from their teams. Certain employees in certain fields (such as sales) thrive when recognized and rewarded for their specific achievements.

Pacesetting has a hidden benefit: encouraging overachievers to work hard and remain aware of long-term perspectives. By setting reasonable goals, they can avoid costly employee burnout and turnover.

Suitability

In fast-paced environments such as sales, certain production facilities, and food service/retail, serving a large number of customers (or creating a great number of widgets) matters. Smart managers balance the need for high performance while fostering healthy competition – not an unhealthy obsession with short-term results.

6) Visionary Management Style

When managers need teams to invest heavily, but situations don’t allow for democratic leadership, visionaries rise to the occasion.

Definition

Visionary leaders help people see the impossible as possible. They facilitate engagement and inspire trust in high-risk, high-reward settings.

Application

Visionary leadership relies on strong central leadership to maintain cohesion. If you use this tactic, you can realize incredible results and experience massive organizational growth.

However, you must take time to listen.

[ctt template=”1″ link=”Zc60f” via=”yes” ]Inspirational leaders attract people who enjoy being part of big and meaningful ventures.[/ctt]

These followers can form a cult of personality around their managers/CEOs, which can create results at the expense of perspective.

Suitability

Smart visionaries know when to inspire – and when to empower.

They can create impressive movements, but must use the trust they gain wisely.

By identifying and promoting strong leaders (including those who use the other methods I’ve described here), they can create long-lasting organizations that maintain momentum well after they achieve their first big successes.

Putting It All Together

You may resonate with one or many of these management styles. If you find something valuable in all of these methods, take a second look. Narrow your ideas down to the few that suit your industry and team the best.

No one wants to be the cliché manager who tries to implement a great new idea every Monday morning.

Conversely, if you recognize yourself as only one of these management types, consider a hybrid approach.

Stick with your strengths but remember that every problem seems like a nail when all you have is a hammer.

Pick one or two management styles that seem opposed to your way of doing things and find ways to test them out. Start with rare, low-risk situations and see how your team reacts to a change of pace.

At the end of the day, management is all about balance. Find it in yourself, your leadership style(s) – and foster it in your team. Ultimately, you aren’t just leading – you’re modeling wisdom for future leaders!