The previous article defined the basic distinction between directive and more participatory leadership. So when should team leaders pick which leadership approach?
For a long time, people perceived leadership as an unconscious personality trait. However, an article on the INSEAD business school website claims that this is not the case.
Can leadership style depend on deadlines? Yes
Leaders may switch from one style to another as the needs of the project or team change.
For example, in the case of a lengthy deadline, team members might not be motivated enough to work hard. More directive leadership is then useful. With a short deadline, it is possible to use more participatory leadership since everyone is suddenly more oriented on getting things done.
A change of leadership styles may be unavoidable if you need to combat free riding. If someone refuses to put in the effort, the leader can schedule daily meetings where people report on what they have finished.
Leading a big team
As the nature of the work evolves, nowadays it is often hard to see clearly the individual effort of people in different roles: specific contributions to the end product are not so evident since, very often, the final outcome is a blend of everyone’s endeavours.
When a team leader is head of a whole lab and not just a small team, it is necessary to set defined objectives for everyone in the lab. A directive style is required when there are many people involved. But you need to remain respectful of others. Never shout and don’t criticise errors in an unpleasant, harsh way.
-jk-