Section title: Human resources - Leadership styles Introduction What motivates workers? Further theories of motivation Group behaviour The group as an effective vehicle for decision making Leadership styles Glossary Test     What are the different styles of leadership? Photograph: CIMA Objectives: To understand the main theories of leadership and their implications for productivity To understand the limitations of leadership theory To understand how management can be flexible in its approach to leadership styles Leadership It was once believed that certain character types made great leaders and that people were born with these characteristics. This is called "trait theory". History has proved that it is incredibly difficult to identify one character type as being more successful at leadership than others. Theorists moved on to study leaders' personalities and their behaviour patterns. This is known as style theory, and argues that there are three main styles of management: Autocratic leadership The leader issues orders to workers informing them of how a task is to be done. Communication tends to be a one-way process from the leader to the workers. Workers are not involved in the decision making. Studies have shown that productivity is highest under this leadership style while the manager is present, but once the manager is not present productivity slumps Democratic leadership The leader consults with the group before making decisions. Communication is two way with workers and the leader listening to each others' opinions. Workers are consulted on all key decisions. Studies have shown that productivity is high - not as high as in an autocratic situation, but when the leader is absent the productivity does not drop Laissez-faire leadership The leader does little to interfere in the group. Group members are not supported by the leader who largely acts like any other member of the group. Communication is poor in both directions. This has the lowest level of productivity of all styles of leadership Leadership styles have been extensively researched, and few solid conclusions have been reached. What is clear is that the style a leader adopts depends on their perception of workers' motivation: do workers need to be driven autocratically and motivated by pay or are workers more motivated by being involved in decision making? A leadership style's success depends on the circumstances the leader is in. A crisis is often better managed using an autocratic style of leadership and lots of short term part-time workers might function better under an autocratic leadership style, but a team of colleagues who expect to work together for the next ten years would probably be far more motivated by being involved in decision making. Leadership styles can affect employee motivation. Therefore, managers need to be trained to adjust their leadership style to suit the situation that they are working in.