Unit 2: and Teamwork in the Public Services
P1
Describe the different leadership styles used in the public services.
What do we mean by “leadership”?
It's the art of inspiring a group of people to act towards a common purpose. In a
business environment, this may mean guiding employees and colleagues with a plan
to meet the needs of the organisation. Here's what you need to know about
leadership, and some examples of how business can profit.
Authoritarian
Authoritarian leaders issue specific orders as to what needs to be done and what
needs to be done. They take decisions individually without input from the rest of the
party. The typical traits of the Authoritarian position will be used by the Officer in the
Army, they're usually bossy, noisy, and obnoxious, they think they're always right,
and their way is the best way. This may be used in a scenario where the team needs
to do something rapidly and efficiently, e.g. on the battlefield, if the unit is under fire,
the leader needs to yell orders and the team needs to act quickly as their lives are on
the line. This style is similar to Task Focused in the sense that the leader is the only
one who provides feedback, it does not build a 'unit' kind of atmosphere and can
trigger low morale, but it is an efficient way in most cases.
Democratic
The team leader makes it possible for the team to apply feedback and suggestions
before the leader decides. A democratic leader is very team-based and wants to get
everyone involved, this is not a fast decision-making process, since there are so
many suggestions that it's hard to make a quick decision. It will be used by an officer
in the fire department to plan a rescue operation in a burning house. This will include
input from all the departments and will be discussed between the teams. Democratic
is like People Focused in the sense that both leaders consider the views and think
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, Unit 2: and Teamwork in the Public Services
for the interests of the team, this can be very beneficial in certain cases as 2 heads
are better than 1. In conclusion, Democratic can be a very efficient style in cases
where the team is preparing a scenario, and all the teams can input to make the
action as effective as possible.
Laissez-faire
The leader doesn't get involved; they leave the team behind. This style is generally
used when the leader has a smart, task-based team that he can rely on to complete
the task. Though this can also be because the team leader is lazy, it can end up in
failure. This style could be used by an officer in the fire department. They will send
his team to a burning building to rescue civilians while he's out to protect the city, a
leader must have a committed team that he can trust to function effectively. Laissez-
faire is somewhat different from bureaucratic, since the leader of Laissez-faire
doesn't get involved with the team, they don't make any feedback or effort. Where
bureaucratic takes charge and puts most feedback to make the situation run
smoothly, both styles enable the team to be on the job all the time, but in different
styles.
Transactional
The team is motivated by the reward at the end and nothing else, if they lose, the
team leader is going to act and punish them. This will be used by an officer who
conducts basic training to new recruits. If they do something wrong, they will be
disciplined, so the recruits will learn never to make a mistake. E.g. the team is on the
bush craft survival mission, they will get extra food if they complete the task, or zero
if they fail. This style is not always preferred but is effective and often used in
everyday life. Transactional is very different from Transformational, since the
Transactional Leader is a very tough non-team leader who uses actions to improve
the team. Where the transformational leaders are highly inspiring and use language
to make the team stronger. Both can be efficient, but they can be in different
circumstances. In my view, this style is not preferred, but is rather useful in training
methods for the army and other disciplinary public services.
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