Leadership Styles.pdf - UNC Charlotte Army ROTC

Leadership Track
Section
3
LEADERSHIP STYLES
Key Points
1 Matching Leadership to the Situation
2 Five Leadership Styles
e
More than anything else, I had confidence in my
Soldiers, junior leaders, and staff. They were trained,
eand I knew they would carry the fight to the enemy. I
trusted them, and they knew I trusted them. I think in Just
Cause, which was a company commander’s war, being
a decentralized commander paid big dividends because
I wasn’t in the knickers of my company commanders all
the time. I gave them the mission and let them do it. I
couldn’t do it for them.
A Battalion Commander, Operation Just Cause Panama, 1989

Leadership Styles ■ 27
Introduction
Some leaders can walk into a room full of strangers and within five minutes have
everyone there thinking, “How have I lived so long without meeting this person?”
Other competent leaders, however, are uncomfortable in social situations. Army
leadership doctrine describes in detail how you should interact with subordinates and
how you must strive to learn and improve your leadership skills. But the Army
recognizes that you must always be yourself. Anything else comes across as fake and
insincere.
Even so, effective leaders are flexible enough to adjust their leadership style and
techniques to the people they lead and the demands they face. Some subordinates
respond best to coaxing, suggestions, or gentle prodding; others need the verbal
equivalent of a kick in the pants. Treating people fairly doesn’t mean treating them as
if they were clones of one another. In fact, if you treat everyone the same way, you’re
probably being unfair, because different people need different types of leadership
from you.
Knowing Your People
“A General said, ‘Each of our three regimental commanders must be handled differently.
Colonel A does not want an order. He wants to do everything himself
and always does well. Colonel B executes every order, but has no initiative.
Colonel C opposes everything he is told to do and wants to do the contrary.’ A
few days later the troops confronted a well-entrenched enemy whose position
would have to be attacked. The General issued the following orders: To Colonel A
(who wants to do everything himself): ‘My dear Colonel A, I think we will attack.
Your regiment will have to carry the burden of the attack. I have, however,
selected you for this reason. The boundaries of your regiment are so-and-so.
Attack at X-hour. I don’t have to tell you anything more.’ To Colonel C (who
opposes everything): ‘We have met a very strong enemy. I am afraid we will not
be able to attack with the forces at our disposal.’ ‘Oh, General, certainly we will
attack. Just give my regiment the time of attack and you will see that we are successful,’
replied Colonel C. ‘Go then, we will try it,’ said the General, giving him
the order for the attack, which he had prepared some time previously. To Colonel
B (who always must have detailed orders) the attack order was merely sent with
additional details. All three regiments attacked splendidly.”
Adolph von Schell, German liaison to the Infantry School between the World Wars

28 ■ SECTION 3
Competent leaders mix
elements of all
[leadership] styles to
match the place, task,
and people involved.
One of the many things
that makes your job
tough is that, in order
to get their best
performance, you must
figure out what your
subordinates need and
what they’re able to do
even when they don’t
know themselves.
Matching Leadership to the Situation
As an Army leader, then, you must analyze the type of leadership to use in different
situations based on the skills of those you are leading and the circumstances you face.
You must fit your leadership style to your subordinates, just as you must fit training to
the trainees’ experience. For example, if you are leading a large group of Soldiers ranging
in rank from private to senior NCO in a map reading exercise, you lead the NCOs differently
than the privates. The senior NCOs know a great deal about the subject, while the privates
know very little. To meet all their needs, you must teach the privates more than you teach
the senior NCOs. If you train the privates only in the advanced skills the NCOs need, the
privates will be lost. If you make the NCOs sit through training in the basic tasks the privates
need, you’ll waste the NCOs’ time.
In the same way, you adjust your leadership style and techniques to your Soldiers’
experience, your organization’s characteristics, and the circumstances you face.
The easiest distinctions to make are those of rank and experience—as in the example
above, you don’t lead senior NCOs the same way you lead privates. But you must go deeper:
You must also take into account your subordinates’ different personalities, levels of selfconfidence,
and other elements. This complex mix of character traits and situational factors
makes dealing with people so difficult, yet so rewarding. One of the many things that makes
your job tough is that, in order to get their best performance, you must figure out what
your subordinates need and what they’re able to do—even when they don’t know
themselves.
When discussing leadership styles, many people focus on the extremes: autocratic
and democratic. Autocratic leaders tell people what to do with no explanation. Their
message is, “I’m the boss; you’ll do it because I said so.” Democratic leaders use interactive
and collaborative approaches to persuade subordinates. But there are many leadership
styles in between these extremes. The following paragraphs discuss five of them. Bear in
mind, however, that competent leaders mix elements of all these styles to match to the
place, task, and people involved. You must learn how to use different leadership styles in
different situations and also how to apply elements of different styles to a single situation.
Using only one leadership style generally leads to problems. When you are inflexible, you
will have difficulty operating in situations where your preferred style does not fit—and
there will be many.
The five different leadership styles we’ll examine here are:
• the directing style
• the participating style
• the delegating style
• the transformational style; and
• the transactional style.
e
To get the best out of your men, they must feel that you
are their real leader and must know that they can
depend upon you.
General of the Armies John J. Pershing

Leadership Styles ■ 29
Five Leadership Styles
Directing Leadership Style
The directing style centers on the leader. When you use this style, you don’t solicit input
from subordinates. Rather, you give detailed instructions on how, when, and where you
want a task performed. You then supervise its execution very closely.
The directing style may be appropriate when time is short and you don’t have a chance
to explain things. You may simply give orders: Do this. Go there. Move. In fast-paced
operations or in combat, you may revert to the directing style, even with experienced
subordinates. If you have created a climate of trust, your subordinates will assume you have
switched to the directing style because of the circumstances.
You may also find the directing style appropriate when leading inexperienced teams
or individuals who aren’t ready to operate on their own. In this kind of situation, you’ll
probably remain close to the action to make sure things go smoothly.
Adopting a directing style does not give you license to use abusive or demeaning
language, or to threaten and intimidate subordinates. If you’re ever tempted to be harsh,
whether because of pressure, stress, or what seems like a subordinate’s improper behavior,
ask yourself: “Would I want to work for someone like me? Would I want my commander
to see and hear me treat subordinates this way? Would I want to be treated this way?”
Participating Leadership Style
In contrast to the directing style, the participating style centers on both the leader and the
team. In this style, when you are given a mission, you ask your subordinates for input,
information, and recommendations, but you make the final decision on what to do. This
style is especially appropriate when you have time for such consultations or when you’re
dealing with experienced subordinates.
The participating leadership style rests on the team-building approach you studied
earlier. When subordinates help create a plan, it becomes their plan—at least in part. This
ownership gives subordinates a strong incentive to invest the effort necessary to make the
plan work. When you ask for this kind of input, it’s a sign of your strength and self-confidence
as a leader. But asking for advice doesn’t mean you’re obligated to follow it. As the leader,
you alone are always responsible for the quality of your decisions and plans.
Delegating Leadership Style
The delegating style goes one step further: It gives subordinates the authority to solve
problems and make decisions without clearing them through the leader. When you have
mature and experienced subordinates—or you want to create a learning experience for
subordinates—you often need only give them decision making authority, the necessary
resources, and a clear understanding of the mission’s purpose. As always, you are ultimately
responsible for what happens, but in the delegating leadership style, you hold subordinate
leaders accountable for their actions. Officers dealing with senior NCOs most often use
this style, as do organizational and strategic leaders.
Critical Thinking
e
The directing leadership
style may be
appropriate when time
is short and leaders
don’t have a chance to
explain things.
The participating
leadership style is
especially appropriate
when there is time to
receive input,
information, and
recommendations from
subordinates.
The delegating
leadership style gives
subordinates the
authority to solve
problems and make
decisions without
clearing them through
the leader.
Contrast the directing, participating, and delegating leadership approaches, and
identify in which situation to use each.

30 ■ SECTION 3
e
A man does not have himself killed for a few halfpence
a day or for a petty distinction. You must speak to the
soul in order to electrify the man.
Napoleon Bonaparte
transformational
leadership style
a developmental style of
leadership that
emphasizes individual
growth and
organizational
enhancement
transactional
leadership style
a leadership style that
motivates subordinates
to work by offering
rewards or threatening
punishment
Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles
Napoleon’s words capture the distinction between the transformational leadership style,
which focuses on inspiration and change, and the transactional leadership style, which
focuses on rewards and punishments. Napoleon obviously understood the importance of
rewards and punishments, but he also understood that carrots and sticks alone don’t inspire
individuals to excellence.
Transformational Leadership Style
As the name suggests, the transformational leadership style aims to transform subordinates
by challenging them to rise above their immediate needs and self-interests. The
transformational style is developmental: It emphasizes individual growth (both professional
and personal) and improving the organization. To successfully employ the transformational
style, you must empower and motivate your subordinates—first as individuals, then as a
group. You must have the courage to communicate your intent and then to step back and
let your subordinates work. You must also be patient, because you often don’t see the benefits
until the mission is accomplished.
The transformational style allows you to take advantage of the skills and knowledge
of experienced subordinates who may have better ideas on how to accomplish a mission.
When you use this style, you communicate reasons for your decisions or actions. In the
process, you build in subordinates a broader understanding and the ability to exercise
initiative and operate effectively.
You can’t use the transformational style in all situations, however. It’s most effective
during periods that call for change or present new opportunities. It also works well when
organizations face a crisis, instability, mediocrity, or disenchantment. It may not be effective
when subordinates are inexperienced, when the mission allows little deviation from accepted
procedures, or when subordinates are not motivated. If you use only the transformational
leadership style, you’ll limit your ability to influence individuals in these and similar
situations.
Transactional Leadership Style
In contrast, some leaders employ only the transactional leadership style. This style includes
such techniques as:
• Motivating subordinates to work by offering rewards or threatening punishment
• Prescribing task assignments in writing
• Outlining all the conditions of task completion, the applicable rules and regulations,
the benefits of success, and the consequences—to include possible disciplinary
actions—of failure
• “Management by exception,” where leaders focus on their subordinates’ failures,
showing up only when something goes wrong.

Leadership Styles ■ 31
Critical Thinking
e
Explain how both transformational and transactional leadership can complement
a leader’s overall approach within an organization. How could a leader apply
transactional or transformational leadership through written orders, such as an
operations order (OPORD)?
If you depend exclusively on the transactional style, rather than combining it with
the transformational style, you’ll evoke only short-term commitment from your
subordinates and discourage risk-taking and innovation.
There are situations, however, where the transactional style is acceptable. For example,
if you want to emphasize safety, you could reward your unit with a three-day pass if the
members avoid any serious safety-related incidents over a two-month deployment. In
this case, your Soldiers will clearly understand your intent: You won’t tolerate unsafe acts
and will reward safe habits.
If you use only the transactional style, however, your efforts can appear self-serving.
In this example, your Soldiers might interpret your attempt to reward safe practices as an
effort to look good by focusing on something that’s unimportant, but that has the
commander’s attention. Such perceptions can destroy your subordinates’ trust in you. If
you use only the transactional style, you can also deprive subordinates of opportunities
to grow, because you leave no room for honest mistakes.
The most effective leaders combine techniques from the transformational and
transactional leadership styles to fit the situation. You’ll elicit the most enthusiastic and
genuine response from subordinates when you combine a strong base of transactional
understanding with charisma, inspiration, and individualized concern for each person.
Subordinates will be more committed, creative, and innovative. They will also be more
likely to take calculated risks to accomplish their mission. They can explain why a course
of action is important and what needs to be done, as well as take care of their fellow Soldiers.
Leaders can avoid
misunderstanding of
their intent by combining
transformational
techniques with
transactional techniques.

32 ■ SECTION 3
e
CONCLUSION
Effective leaders are flexible enough to adjust their leadership style and
techniques to the people they lead and the demands they face. You have read
about five leadership styles: directing, participating, delegating, transformational,
and transactional. You are not limited to any one style in a given situation.
Use techniques from different styles to motivate your Soldiers to accomplish
the mission.
Critical Thinking
e
Think about each of the scenarios below and discuss which leadership style
would be most effective in the situation described, and why.
1. Your infantry unit is airlifted on 24-hours notice to a Pacific island to establish
security and bring food and water to an area devastated by a typhoon
(hurricane). No one in your unit knows the local language or customs,
although one NCO practices the local religion.
2. You are traveling by convoy in a remote desert village in an area far from any
known insurgency. Suddenly a rocket-propelled grenade hits and disables your
lead vehicle and your unit comes under mortar and automatic-weapons fire.
3. Truck and humvee accidents have been a serious problem on post, and many
Soldiers have been hurt or even killed. The division commander is offering a
prize to the commander of the unit that compiles the best motor-vehicle
safety record over the next six months. Your own unit has had two serious
accidents in the last month.
4. You are given a mission in which several companies under your command must
act independently in widely scattered villages at the same hour. It is extremely
important that the companies act precisely at the designated times.

Leadership Styles ■ 33
Learning Assessment
1. What type of situation is best suited for transformational leadership?
2. Describe a combat setting in which transactional leadership would be essential.
3. Describe what kind of leadership style you would use in leading MSL I cadets
in a map-reading exercise and explain why you would use the style you chose.
Key Words
transformational leadership style
transactional leadership style
References
Leadership Development Program Handbook. 10 March 2005.