Understanding Different Styles of Leadership

Introduction

It is hard to disagree that employees are a valuable and powerful force that drives companies toward success. However, it is also essential to highlight the benefits of employers who do their best to ensure the prosperity of their organizations by making the most effective decisions, maintaining positive workplace environments, and assessing potential risks. Each leader is different, but all have similar traits and characteristics, allowing them to distinguish several types of leadership. In order for their firms to be competitive, as well as for their employees to feel empowered and motivated, leaders need to adhere to specific laws, welcome changes, and inspire action. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these topics and provide examples to illustrate them.

Main body

Before completing the self-assessment, I thought that my leadership style was the delegating one because I have always increased trust in my team and encouraged them to make their own decisions. However, the test showed that I was a democratic or participative leader, and after getting acquainted with this style, I can agree with the results of the self-assessment (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). While I do involve my team in decision-making and promote their creativity, I still guide these discussions, set goals, and make final choices myself, which are the traits of the identified style. I consult my team and appreciate their valuable ideas and insights to then use them when making decisions.

There are some skills and characteristics associated with the democratic and participative leadership style. First, according to research, democratic leaders are flexible and focus on mutual trust between them and group members (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.; Regan, 2022). Further, I believe that human skills are the basis of this style as they “allow a leader to assist group members in working cooperatively as a group to achieve common goals” (Northouse, 2022, p. 102). Finally, to understand people and involve them in the process and also be competent in social systems, participative leaders need to have social judgment skills (Northouse, 2022). The latter include perspective-taking, behavioral flexibility, social performance, and others.

A situation when my leadership skills helped me greatly was when I needed to improve the team’s morale, motivate the members, and make sure to have creative and unique ideas for the upcoming project. I understood the general mood in the group was negative and encouraged their participation in common brainstorming by saying that their opinion and suggestions mattered. This is how my leadership style can create a stronger workplace environment. Participative leaders motivate their team members, promote contribution and mutual trust, and make sure to maintain healthy relationships in their group to avoid conflicts (Northouse, 2022). As a result, when everyone is encouraged to be engaged and knows that he or she is valued and respected by the leader, the environment becomes stronger and more productive.

At the same time, the democratic style of leadership has some weaknesses, thus requiring enhancement. To better improve one’s organizational culture, participative leaders should set an example by being flexible, creative, and open themselves, learn conflict resolution skills, and better manage emotions in their groups (Hall, 2022; Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). What is more, since this leadership style is not very effective in urgent situations, it would be beneficial to upgrade skills like quick decision-making and risk assessment.

In order to be an effective leader, one needs to follow several laws. The Law of Empowerment resonates with me most because I believe that only those leaders who sincerely encourage others and nurture the best qualities in their workers truly deserve to be leaders. According to Miller (2021), “those who empower rather than control gain respect, trust, and admiration from their followers” (para. 12). Indeed, empowerment includes the three mentioned concepts and also allows for the creation of a unified team with members genuinely supporting their leader and feeling valued. However, if workers in a company are treated as servants with no powers and rights, they will not be motivated to contribute to the firm’s development. One of the greatest examples of how empowered employees lead their organization to success is Southwest Airlines which puts its workers first (“Our People,” n.d.). Finally, it seems to me that precisely, this law is the key to the creation of new and even better leaders.

In relation to some other real-life examples, one may say that a KSA leader Amin H. Nasser, embodies the Law of Navigation. According to Eims, “a leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do” (as cited in Miller, 2021, para. 4). As the President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Amin H. Nasser leads by “making sure he’s prepared for the challenges of the day ahead, not mingling into the early hours” (El Dahan & Georgy, 2022, para. 3). This rule allowed Nasser to become one of the best leaders in KSA (MarcoPolis, 2022). Therefore, this leader perfectly embodies the Law of Navigation, proving the importance of paying increased attention to the future.

It is hard to disagree that successful leaders need to be able to adapt to the changing circumstances and take the best opportunities. As stated by Nohria (2022), in such adaptations, leaders are considered to be shifting in response to “global events, government intervention, labor relations, demographics, social mores, and the technology landscape” (para. 3). As for me, I would probably shift in a way to better consider global events and labor factors and respond to them in a proper manner, not being afraid of the need to change.

Currently, Saudi Vision 2030 is shifting KSA and making it more thriving, ambitious, and vibrant. This strategic framework is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, an innovative leader focused on improving the kingdom’s state. Increased attention is paid to diversifying the economy, creating new job opportunities, promoting entrepreneurship and education, and “unlocking underdeveloped industries such as manufacturing, renewable energy and tourism” (The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, n.d., para. 4). Therefore, one may say that Saudi Arabia is entering those areas that were not entered by it before, and in ways that were not available to it earlier, primarily because innovation was not embraced. This is how Saudi Vision 2030 is shifting the kingdom, making it more open and welcoming.

Finally, it is again possible to find KSA leaders who have shifted in the past few years. For instance, in response to the changing situation, the leadership of Saudi Data and IBM “have signed a strategic agreement to add artificial intelligence (AI) into the carbon capture and industrial domains” (Crockett, 2022). This is a new opportunity for Saudi Data, and its leader takes a great step forward by considering and accepting this need for changes (Gupta, 2022). Therefore, one may agree that the leader has shifted in the past few years as they started to focus on a relatively new solution, recognizing the requirements and chances of modern times.

Eventually, one should discuss the importance of leaders inspiring their workers. As a leader, I try to inspire action by setting my own example of a hard-working and creative person who is dedicated not only to reaching the goal but also enjoying the process. In his speech, Sinek (2014) outlines the concept of highlighting the ‘why’ of the leader’s and their employees’ jobs. In a successful and effective firm, people should sincerely want to achieve common goals precisely because they know the reason for their achievement (Sinek, 2014). For example, my company’s key ‘why’ is in empowering people and eliminating inequalities. We care about underrepresented groups, provide them with the best everyday solutions, and make their lives easier and more comfortable. My personal ‘why’ lies in the promotion of happiness and joy that clients experience when using our products. This is what I as a leader, tell my team: we are doing it not for the money but for people’s smiles and heartfelt gratitude.

In KSA, there are many companies that really embody their ‘why’ instead of the ‘what.’ One example is Dallah Al‑Baraka, which offers diversified services because it believes in the commitment to sustainability when meeting people’s needs, like education, healthcare, tourism, and others (Zarea, 2022). Thus, “its commitment to the society is crystalized by establishing a full-fledged CSR department with integrated functions and initiatives” (Destination KSA, 2016, para. 1). The company provides women, children, and other populations with what they require to improve environment further.

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, one may agree that the discussed leadership concepts are actually essential for the success and competitiveness of organizations. Different leadership styles allow for the promotion of specific qualities that teams require most, and adherence to a number of laws coordinates and controls leaders, ensuring their actions are efficient and ethical. Finally, only those who inspire action and embody the ‘why’ of their efforts can have unified and committed teams with members who respect and trust each other, striving to achieve their common goal.

References

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El Dahan, M., & Georgy, M. (2022). Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser: A homegrown engineer who reached the top. Reuters. Web.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (n.d.). Vision 2030. Web.

Gupta, P. (2022, September 27). Saudi Data, AI Authority (SDAIA) and Ministry of Energy partner with IBM to accelerate sustainability initiatives in Saudi Arabia using AI. IBM. Web.

Hall, S. H. (2022). What are the different types of leadership styles? Envato. Web.

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Regan, T. (2022). How to identify your leadership styles. Reworked. Web.

Zarea, A. (2022). Dallah Albaraka picks 10 Saudi students for first batch of ‘Future Geniuses Program.’ Saudi Gazette. Web.