6 Leadership Styles: When to Use and When to Avoid

Background: Has anyone ever inquired about your management style? Unfortunately, this is not a simple solution for a competent leader. Many people believe that strong leaders have only one style, and while it is true that each individual leads in their unique way, the truth is that exceptional leaders employ multiple leadership styles. According to Hay/research, McBer's best leaders employ a variety of leadership styles that impact the organizational climate. Depending on the leadership style adopted, these factors (flexibility, responsibility, standards, rewards, clarity, and commitment) are altered to a greater or lesser amount because climate influences one-third of all outcomes, favourable effects on it are critical to the organization's success. Styles: Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, and Coaching were the six leadership styles found. The coercive and pacesetting approaches had a negative overall climate impact, whereas the others had a favourable effect. The table below explains the different styles and advises when to use them and when to avoid them. So, what exactly does all of this imply? In his article from 2000, 'Leadership that Gets Results,' Daniel Goleman contrasts how an intelligent leader will employ many leadership styles in the same way a golfer would use various clubs depending on the situation. No one style is optimal all of the time; instead, alternating between styles as needed is the greatest technique. In conclusion: What about genuine leadership, though? How can someone claim to be genuine if they constantly change who they are? You're not changing who you are, to put it simply. A skilled leader will always have a distinct personality to conduct business, but he must be aware of when one method is preferable to another. For Goleman's full article on the six leadership styles, click here.  
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7 Tips for New Managers When Taking Over an Existing Team

      Taking over an existing team, especially if you are a new manager, is one of the most challenging tasks in management and leadership. While each manager will deal with this in their way, we've put together a list of 7 recommendations that all managers may use to enhance their success rate and speed up the transition.
  • Identify and understand the current team dynamic and team members.
To be influential in moulding the behaviour of the new team, the leader must have a thorough understanding of both the individuals on the team and the team dynamic as a whole. Keep in mind that when people are in a group, they alter their behaviour to fit in with the rest of the group. Individuals will exhibit distinct behaviours in different groups and when they are not in groups. A private one-on-one interview wit h a few prepared questions will help you understand the person better. Make sure you're not simply scribbling down replies but also paying attention to what your teammates are saying and not saying. Try to include some personal information, such as your children and spouse's names and birth dates. There's nothing quite like arriving at work to find your boss wishing your son a happy birthday, especially if they've prepared a small surprise present to accompany it. An insightful but straightforward SurveyMonkey survey can go a long way toward understanding team dynamics, joys, and pain spots. First, attempt to determine current levels of engagement. Gallup offers some excellent information on what influences engagement to incorporate into your study.
  • Set some ground rules
Your team members will do it for you if you don't make an effort to set and establish the group's behavioural rules concretely. In other words, which behaviours do we want to encourage and which do we want to discourage? What happens when there is unacceptably lousy behaviour? If you take the following strategy, this step is usually pretty simple: Gather your team and ask whether they want to be a high-performing or low-performing team member. The solution is self-evident. Then draw a line down the middle of the whiteboard, dividing it in half, and call one 'high-performance behaviours' and the other 'poor performance behaviours.' Next, allow your team to brainstorm appropriate behaviours for each, such as coming late, being self-motivated, and so on. They've chosen what they need to do to become the team they want to be. Based on this information, determine the proper guidelines to encourage or discourage the behaviours.
  • Recognize the goals of the team.
This may seem obvious, but Gallup's survey results revealed that nearly half of the employees polled had no idea what was expected of them. Determine what your team's numerical deliverables are and prioritize them. If they can't be measured, figure out how to quantify them because if you can't put a number on it, managing it will be challenging. Also, make sure that everyone on the team understands how their work affects these metrics. Track the team's results against those figures and display them for all to see once clear numerical targets and timeframes have been defined. The results are still an essential factor for high-performing teams.
  • Determine who the influencers are.
Some of your team members will wield more power than others. Find out who they are and how you may use their power for good. That doesn't imply picking favourites or being lenient with some people. Influencers can sometimes have a detrimental impact, and it isn't much you can do about it. Be ready to make a judgment call if someone isn't a good fit for the group. Always prioritize the collective over the individual. Suppose you find yourself needing to fire members from your team on a frequent basis because they aren't contributing to the group's success. In that case, you may want to reconsider your capacity to influence behaviour. Leaders do not have the luxury of simply dealing with people who share their values.
  • Acquire credibility
It takes time for a new manager to establish a reputation. Therefore, it's no surprise that credibility is a significant issue for new managers. Unfortunately, there is only one method to gain credibility, and it takes time and acts to do it. However, you may do a few things to make the time pass more quickly. First and foremost, follow through on what you say. Make no empty pledges or break your word. That holds not only for promised rewards but also for promised penalties, so be careful what you offer. Before you make a threat, think about what you're about to say. Second, set a good example. You should arrive 20 minutes early if you want your teammates to arrive 5 minutes early. You can't show disrespect to others, even those who aren't on your team if you want them to be polite to each other.
  • Communicate
There can be no trust without open, honest, and respectful communication. Setting goals and conducting performance assessments are only two aspects of communication. It goes beyond coaching and work-related conversation. Employees must be demonstrated that they are valued as people first, then as employees. Make time to talk with your team members on work and non-work-related subjects. It's a cliche to have an open door policy. However, having an open door isn't enough; you also need to invite people through it and engage them in conversation. Make time for individual input regularly. People want to know how they're performing regarding their manager's expectations, so schedule weekly informal performance discussions and monthly formal reviews.
  • Measure
Although we addressed measurement in step 3, it deserves its section. Make time to periodically assess employee engagement in addition to the performance indicators you track, which should be a given. Gallup's research demonstrates the value of engaged employees and the harm caused by actively disengaged employees. Employee engagement should be measured monthly within your team. It doesn't have to be a 200-question survey; all you need is an aggregated measure of a few questions to get a sense of your team's mental state so you can manage engagement proactively rather than reactively. Finally, take your measurements. Allow your team to anonymously score you on various factors, such as how approachable you are, your overall leadership rating, and so on. This will undoubtedly aid your development as a leader and enable you to comprehend your team's expectations of you.
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Reasons to Embrace Online Learning

In today's technology-driven environment, we study in different ways.  For a while now, online learning has been a hot topic in the media. Because of this, many companies are debating whether online learning is appropriate for their employees. Some companies are more forward-thinking than others, using online learning, while others prefer to remain in the dark. The majority of organizations that have adopted online learning as their training system employ many Millennials. In the past, e-learning was underutilized, particularly in underdeveloped countries. The present COVID-19 pandemic, however, has compelled the entire world to rely on it for education. Many companies with online training portals reported that all employees felt that the online course design allows them to learn at their own pace. In addition, the technological abilities gained from teaching online courses improved their educational experience. E-learning is not a new phenomenon; in the previous decade, there was a rising global trend toward employing electronic learning or e-learning. Moreover, some higher education institutes in underdeveloped nations have lately adopted this trend. This technology, however, has not been evenly distributed throughout all countries and cultures. "Seventy-one percent of Millennials who are likely to quit a company in the next two years are dissatisfied with how their leadership abilities are being developed," according to Ryan Jenkins. Sixty-nine percent of Millennials want to be leaders in the next five years, and sixty percent of Millennials desire leadership training." As a result, consistent and higher levels of training account for a large portion of Millennials' job satisfaction. Unfortunately, this was not always the case, as people used to get their training when they initially started a job and then didn't anticipate any more after that. The same trend can be seen in the graph below from source: Statista. These days, employees are considerably more demanding in terms of skill development, and firms must keep this in mind or risk losing their most valued employees. Millennials choose online learning because it is convenient and adaptable to their schedule. They have access to the internet at all times. Most online training providers (https://my.learnifyapp.com) allow your staff to access their training from any smartphone, tablet, or laptop, allowing them to stay current with their training anytime they have free time. Although Millennials favour online training, many other sorts of individuals are adopting it as well. For example, having access to training helps close the skills gap among the unemployed, acquiring abilities that they would have never imagined possible a few years ago. Businesses have also used this readily available method of training to hire people with fewer abilities and then teach them up to where they need to be. Traditional training was excellent at the time, but online training is superior because people have varying attention spans and different times when they would benefit from it. People who learn online can concentrate for shorter periods rather than for more extended amounts of time. It also allows employees to complete their training at their own pace, preferable for those with children or other commitments. Furthermore, online learning saves you time by eliminating the need to drive to training locations in Cape Town traffic and saving your office space because all training content is conveniently accessible online. With the advancement of technology and the majority of the workforce consisting of Millennials who value continual training as part of their job satisfaction, the trend of online learning has emerged. Online learning is becoming more popular among all types of businesses and individuals. Shouldn't you be doing the same?
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