Every business leader has a style all his or her own. So you may think that there are an unlimited number of organizational leadership styles. If so, you'd be wrong. According to the experts in leadership, the U.S. Army, there are only three: the authoritarian, the participative and the free reign. Which do you think is the best? If you said any one of them, you'd be wrong again. The best style of organizational leadership is a wise mixture of all three.

The Authoritive Style

I'll bet you thought this was the wrong style of organizational leadership. Actually, although this style is just what you think it is, it is appropriate to use in some cases. A leader should be able to tell his or her followers just what to do and how to do it without asking for input. If there's no need for input, if there's no time for input and if the leader has established a relationship of trust, then the authoritative style is fine.

Of course there's no place for abusive or demanding practices in good organizational leadership. Threatening, demeaning language is never part of a good leader's style. However, a leader can be authoritative with new, inexperienced hires while still being able to build a trusting relationship. Even when employees trust their leader enough to follow authoritative leadership, a good leader must be open to input when the employees think it is necessary.

The Participative Style

In this style of organizational leadership, the leader retains the final say in all decision-making but invites some employees to participate in the process. This style should be used more often than the first. No boss is expected to know everything and this style allows for skilled and knowledgeable employees to contribute their training and experience.

The participative style of organizational leadership helps to build teams and establish two-way trust in a department. This is the style to use with employees who really know their jobs.

The Free Reign Style

This style of organizational leadership, also called delegative, allows knowledgeable employees to make decisions on their own. The leader still retains all responsibility for the outcome. This style is good for tasks that have been done successfully before. Groups can even be led by employees to complete an undertaking with little or no input from the leader.

The free reign style is best used with employees who know more than the leader.

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