Business Leadership Roles and Styles

Leadership Roles in Business

Key Leadership Positions

• Directors: Senior managers elected by shareholders in a limited company. They usually head a major functional department and are responsible for delegating within that department.
• Managers: Individuals responsible for people, resources, or decision-making (often all three). They have authority over other staff below them in the hierarchy and are tasked with leading, motivating, and, if necessary, disciplining the staff in their section or department.
• Supervisors: Appointed by management to oversee the work of others. This is usually not a decision-making role, but they are responsible for leading a team of people.
• Worker's Representatives: Elected by workers, either as trade union officials or as representatives on works councils, to discuss areas of common concern with management.

Leadership Styles

• Autocratic: Often referred to as an authoritarian leadership style. Decision-making power resides solely with top-level management, with minimal delegation of responsibility to subordinates.

  Communication is top-down, with no opportunity for feedback. This style can cause resentment and frustration among the workforce and is not very common in today's business world.

• Democratic: Managers and leaders consider the views of the workforce before implementing any new system. This can increase morale and motivation, but it can also be more time-consuming due to broader participation in decision-making.

• Laissez-faire: Employees are set objectives and then decide how best to achieve them using the available resources. This can result in high levels of enthusiasm, but it relies heavily on the skills of the workforce.

• Paternalistic: A somewhat autocratic approach, although the social and welfare needs of employees are considered. Leaders are likely to consult the workforce before implementing decisions but may not heed much of the feedback.

Theory X and Theory Y Managers

Theory X managers believe that workers:

• Dislike work
• Are not creative
• Will avoid responsibility

Theory Y managers believe that workers:

• Will accept responsibility
• Can derive as much enjoyment from work as from rest and play
• Are creative

Informal Leaders and Emotional Intelligence

• Informal Leader: A person who has no formal authority but has the respect of colleagues and some power over them.
• Emotional Intelligence (EI): The ability of managers to understand their own emotions, and those of the people they work with, to achieve better business performance.