Leadership Styles
and working with teams
What is Leadership ?

Leadership is about behaviour first, skills second.

Good leaders are followed because people trust and
respect them, not for the skills they possess.

Leadership is different to management.

Leadership needs management skills, plus integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment,
sincerity, passion, confidence, positivity, wisdom,
determination, compassion, sensitivity and
personality.
What is Leadership Style?
… the manner and approach of providing
direction, implementing plans, and
motivating people.
Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to
identify different styles of leadership.
This early study has been very influential and set
three major leadership styles.
3 Styles
The three major styles of leadership are:

Authoritarian or autocratic - ‘Boss’

Participative or democratic - ‘Teamwork’

Delegative or Free Reign - ‘Multidisciplined’
Although good leaders use all three styles, with one
of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick
with one style.
Authoritarian (autocratic)
“I want both of you to...”

This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want
done and how, without getting the advice of their team.
It can be used when you have all the information to solve the problem,
you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.

Some people think of this style as yelling, using bossy language and
threats and abusing their power.
This is not the authoritarian style, it is an abusive, unprofessional style
called bossing people around. It has no place in a leader's work.

The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare
occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment
and motivation from your employees, then you should use the
participative style.
Participative (democratic)
“Let's work together to solve this…”

This style involves the leader including one or more employees in
the decision making process (decide what to do and how to do
it). However, the leader maintains the final decision-making
authority.
Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of
strength that your employees will respect.

This is best used when you have part of the information, and
your employees have other parts. A leader is not expected to
know everything -- this is why you employ knowledgeable and
skilful employees.
Using this style is of mutual benefit -- it allows them to become
part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.

Delegative (free reign)
“You two take care of the problem while I go…”

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the
decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the
decisions that are made.
This is used when employees are able to analyse the situation
and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You
cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate
certain tasks.

This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when
things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully
trust and have confidence in the people below you. Do not be
afraid to use it, however, use it wisely!
Where are we ?

What is the system in use in Cambodia
most often?

What about INGOs?
Forces
A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are
involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation.
Some examples include:

Use an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the
job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is
motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for
the employee.

Use a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The
leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The
employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team.

Use a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job
than you. The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the
situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things.

Use all three: Tell your employees that a procedure is not working
correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Ask for
their ideas on creating a new procedure (participative). Give tasks in
order to implement the new procedure (delegative).
Forces that influence the style
to be used include:

How much time you have.

Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect?

Who has the information - you, your employees, or both?

How well your team is trained and how well you know the task.

Internal conflicts.

Stress levels.

Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple?

Laws or established procedures such as safety or training plans.
Positive and Negative
Approaches
There is a difference in ways leaders approach
their team.

Positive leaders use rewards, such as
education, independence, etc. to motivate
employees, while negative employers
emphasize penalties.

The negative approach has a place in a
leader's tools, but it must be used carefully
because it costs in morale.
Positive and Negative
Approaches



Negative leaders act bossy and superior with
people. They believe the only way to get things done
is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off
without pay, reprimand employees in front of others,
etc.
They believe their authority is increased by
frightening everyone. Yet what happens when this
approach is used badly is that morale falls; and also
productivity.
Note that most leaders do not use one or the other,
but are somewhere in the middle. People who
always work by negatives are bosses while those
who mostly work by positives are real leaders.
Stoppers and Starters

Herzberg (1966) developed a list of factors
that are based on Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs, except his version is more closely
related to the working environment.
Factors that demotivate
You need to get these right:
 Working conditions
 Policies and administrative practices
 Salary and Benefits
 Supervision
 Status
 Job security
 Co-workers
 Personal life
Motivators or Satisfiers
These encourage staff:
 Recognition
 Achievement
 Advancement
 Growth
 Responsibility

Job challenge
Get it right


The right conditions must be present in the
job before motivators can be used to
stimulate people. That is, you cannot use
motivators until all the stopper factors are
met.
Building on this, Herzberg used the term
"job enrichment" to describe redesigning
work to build in motivators.
Consideration and Structure
Two related approaches that leaders use are:

Consideration (employee orientation) - Leaders are concerned about
the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help
employees with their problems, and provide psychological support.

Structure (task orientation) - Leaders believe that they get results by
consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce.
There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style
are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job
consideration and structure are separate, and not opposites.
For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not
become less structured.
Paternalism
Paternalism is confused with leadership.
But most definitions of leadership talk about influencing.

Leadership is influencing people -- by providing purpose, direction, and motivation -while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization."

Influence is a means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the way
to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there’s more to influencing than
simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words
you speak. And you set an example -- good or bad -- with every action you take and
word you utter. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose,
direction, and motivation.
While "paternalism" is:

a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of
those under its control ...
So paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while
leadership gets things done.
Power Difference
Power Difference is the degree of equality, or
inequality, between people in a society.
It shows how much the less powerful
members of organisations and institutions (for
example, the family) accept and expect that
power is distributed unequally.
The inequality is accepted by the followers as
much as by the leaders.
Power Difference Index (PDI)
Geert Hofstede (1977) studied culture within organisations.
He developed a Power Difference Index (PDI) for 53 countries;
scores ranged from 11 to 104 and averaged 55.
Power Difference Index (PDI)
Geert Hofstede (1977) studied culture within organisations.
He developed a Power Difference Index (PDI) for 53 countries;
scores ranged from 11 to 104 and averaged 55.
The higher the number, the more autocratic and/or paternalistic
the usual leadership is, which means employees are afraid or
unwilling to disagree with their bosses.
Lower numbers mean a more consultative style of leadership,
and employees who are not as afraid of their bosses.
Malaysia has the highest PDI score, 104, while Austria
has the lowest with 11. As the story before shows,
Sweden has a low score (31), while France is higher
(68). The USA's is 40.
Where are we?
What do you think Cambodia’s score is?
Where are we?



Cambodia has a high PDI.
Most Western countries have a low PDI.
Leadership styles show this.
Leadership Tips
Team building success is when your team
can accomplish something bigger and work
more effectively than a group of the same
individuals working on their own.
Set Goals

Make sure that the team goals are totally
clear and completely understood and
accepted by each team member.

Make sure there is communication and you
and your people stay fully informed.
Divide the jobs

Make sure it is clear who does what.

Do your best to avoid overlaps of authority.
Example: if two team members have control of a task, try to
divide that task into two distinct parts and give each
control of one (may be by skill strengths, what they like,
or just divide by districts or similar)
Involve all

For something that needs the team to agree and
commit, involve the whole team in the decision
making process.
For example, use group discussions of possible
options.
What you want here is each team member feels his
or her ownership in the final idea.
The more he or she feels this way, the more likely
he or she is to agree with and commit to the decided
line of action.
Trust in you


Build trust with your team members by
spending one-on-one time in an atmosphere
of openness and honesty.
Be loyal to your employees, if you expect the
same.
Trust each other

Allow your office team members build trust
and openness between each other

team building activities and events.

extra social time with each other in an
atmosphere that encourages open
communication.
For example, have a group meal on Friday
Behaviour

Be careful with interpersonal issues.
Recognize them early and deal with them till
full resolution.

Act on any broken rules or poor behaviour.
Encourage

Do not only give negative feedback. Be fair.
Whenever there is an opportunity, give
positive feedback as well.

Say thank you or show appreciation of an
individual team player's work.

Never miss opportunities to encourage your
employees. Be specific.
Be friends

You can still be friends with your staff.

They need to understand that you are being held
accountable for their work and so there will be times
when you have to be directive
… but …
there will be more times when you have to rely on
them to help you.
Good managers do not build barriers against
people.
Another view:
don’t manage your people!



Forget the idea that people can be managed. It’s not possible.
The more you try to manage people the more likely they are to
‘fight back'. If you do fully control of people's behaviour you end
up with a team that is unable to think for themselves.
Give up managing people and start to manage systems.
Systems and processes are controllable. They can be defined,
measured and managed. The good part is that most people
value a well-developed system because it makes life easier and
more rewarding, so they will use it. By developing a good
system you get the outcome you want - increased productivity
and quality performance from your team.
Provide the tools – the ‘servant leader’.
What will work best for us?
What style will work well at our office?

What suits you as team leader?

What is your staff used to?

What are your staff ready for?
Meetings

Essential for the team to communicate



information sharing
all team effort directed to the same clear goals
divide tasks

Can be a very effective way to focus and
improve efficiency

Can be a complete waste of time
Running Meetings

Start with an Agenda

All talk is “through the Chair”

The Chairperson drives the meeting

Keep to the Agenda
What are the outputs?
Meeting Outputs

Understanding

Team spirit

List: Actions, Responsibilities, Times
Feedback
Practice working in a low PDI situation
Feed back
 Too technical?
 Not detailed or practical?
 Too much, too little, off target, confusing, ….