Brock { Abroad }

Building on a previous post, 21st Century Leadership, leadership styles in the past, present, and future are explained by Pieter Spinder at Knowmads.

When it comes down to traditional leadership, bureaucratic and autocratic leadership styles come to mind. Involving hierarchy, power retention within “manager-style” positions, all decision-making is given on a vertical style of bureaucratic leadership where only the highest positions are involved. Staff, within organizations and corporations, do not consult staff and are typically not given the opportunity to provide input. Without explanation, they are expected to obey orders. Usually, they do so without ever given a second thought. This is typically due to a structured set of rewards and punishments that are involved if they fail or succeed. In other words, if they obey or disobey.

Autocratic leaders are especially reliant on these threats and punishments to influence their staff, which they don’t trust or listen to for input, anyway. Bureaucratic style is a bit more managed “by the book,” so to speak. Everything is done according to procedure or policy. If not covered by the book, it’s passed on to the hands of a higher level without further regard. It’s this behavior that places a police officer as simply a rule-enforcer instead of a leader, for example.

What are some qualities of other present leadership styles that are valuable and what are the leadership styles of the future? Some valuable qualities that can help make a group of people collaborate more creatively involve just that type of attitude. These qualities get everyone more involved, they create a community dialogue and discussion. They are an easy entrance to expanding your network in order to open up to a wider audience, within a differently structured format, involving like-minded educators of a similar skill level. Here are the styles of the today and tomorrow we explored:

Transformational Leadership

Make change happen in self, others, groups, and organizations. Charisma is a special leadership style commonly associated with transformational leadership; extremely powerful, extremely hard to teach.

Transactional Leadership

Emphasizes on getting things done within the umbrella of the status quo, which is directly in opposition of transformational leadership. Using a “by the book” approach, this leader works within the rules and is commonly seen in large, bureaucratic organizations.

Creative Leadership

Ability to uniquely inspire people, generating shared innovative responses and solutions to complex and readily-changing situations.

street art, Tel-Aviv

Corrective Leadership

Empowers staff to facilitate collaborative behavior and creates a synergism by working with and through other people instead of bowing to authoritarianism.

Change Leadership

Endorses alteration, is beyond thinking about individuals and individual organizations, and single problems with single solutions. Rethinks systems to introduce change on parts of the whole and their relationship to one another.

Intelligence Leadership

Is able to navigate the future by embracing ambiguity and reframing problems as opportunities. Takes a proactive stance in taking their organizations into uncharted territory.

Multicultural Leadership

Fosters team and individual effectiveness, drives for innovation by leveraging multicultural differences. Teams are able to work more effectively in the atmosphere of understanding and mutual respect.

Pedagogical Leadership

A video from 21st Century Pedagogy attempts to answer the question: How do we involve new technologies to meet the changing needs of students in the 21st Century classroom?

The literature from the presentation reads:

Technology will never replace teachers. However, teachers who know how to use technology effectively to help their students connect and collaborate together online will replace those who do not.

There is a paradigm shift from leader/teacher centered “orientation” to an interactive, connective organizational system using more democratic learning with a more dynamic communicative approach. This is seen as an alternative to instructional leadership by enabling the learning and intellectual growth of those led.

Servant Leadership

By focusing on people and choosing to serve first, then lead, this practical philosophy is a way to expand service. The object of this “servants-first” approach is making sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. These leaders, putting the needs of their followers first, are especially rare in business.

Bridging Leadership

How do we combine these qualities and styles to make a great recipe for creative collaboration? Through fostering synergy and reinforcing behavior and motivation through the use of effective communication to create a climate of trust and confidence. This is a Projection of confidence on the face of a difficult challenge.  Purposeful leadership allows a leader and the community to share a common purpose to develop or provide the drive, authority, and commitment to undertake projects.

Within an organization, three factors influence which leadership style the individual most dominantly uses.

‘The personality, knowledge, values, ethics, and experience of the individual, or manager.”

“The supervision of the staff of individuals built with differing personalities and backgrounds. The style will vary depending upon the individual, staff, and what they respond best to.”

“The traditions, values, philosophy, and concerns of the organization influence how an individual, or manager, acts.”

Should leaders be more task or relationship (people) oriented?

While most leaders have a dominant style, one they encompass in a wide variety of situations, it is important to remember that leaders must adjust their leadership style to the situation as well as to the people being led. There are many different aspects to being a great leader. It’s a role requiring one to play as many different leadership styles needed in order to be successful, whatever that may mean for you.

So, I leave you with some questions:

What do you want to learn?

What do you want to achieve?

What does leadership mean to you and how do you want to lead yourself, now, into the future?

links: non-linear leadership, Holy Land Trust

The Art of Chaordic Leadership , Leader to Leader Institute

Related posts:

1. 21st Century Leadership
2. What does social innovation mean (for me)?
3. Is “art school” the next “dream school?”
4. How to live a life of Pilgrimage:
5. Social Innovation; a travel guide…