AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP In autocratic leadership, one person has control over all of the workers or followers.

The leader is in complete control and no one is permitted to make any suggestions or offer any opinions, no matter how it may benefit the group. Examples: Martha Stewart Martha Stewart built her empire with personal attention to every detail. Whether you liked her or not, she was meticulous and demanding. She was also very successful in her endeavors, and in using her autocratic management style. Many industry analysts might argue that it was Martha's autocratically demanding style that allowed her to flourish in a competitive environment such as the entertainment industry. Others might argue that even more success might have awaited Martha Stewart if she had not relied so heavily on the autocratic style. Howell Raines Newspapers and old industries often flourished under autocratic leaders that stood watch over factory workers to make sure their factories kept humming. The point here is that it might not be easy to work under these circumstances, but the autocratic leadership style is certainly efficient. Howell Raines was the Executive Editor of the New York Times from 2001 until 2003. Widely cited as a "hard-charging" Executive Editor, Raines was known for his policy of "flooding the zone"- using all of the New York Times' resources to cover what he deemed were important stories. Howell Raines is a classic example of how an autocratic style can be used successfully in a highly-demanding industry. Think about the daily pressures associated with publishing one of the highest quality newspapers in the world. DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP The democratic leadership style is a very open and collegial style of running a team. Ideas move freely amongst the group and are discussed openly. Everyone is given a seat at the table, and discussion is relatively free-flowing.

Examples: Asking all group members for ideas and input. Voting on the best course of action in a project. Asking group members to work with their strengths and provide input on how to divide the work

PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP A Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, seeks to involve other people in the process, possibly including subordinates, peers, superiors and other stakeholders. Example: If in a company, the manager has to decide whether or not to take the responsibility of a project. Instead of him taking the direct decision, he would approach his team members and provide them with the requirements of the project. After discussing with the team members regarding what is required, what they have, and all other essential aspects of the project; the manager will take the final decision, keeping in mind the views and suggestions of the team members. GOAL ORIENTED LEADERSHIP Goal oriented is also called result based or objective based leadership. People who take this approach ask team members to focus solely on the goals at hand. Only strategies that make a definite and measureable contribution to accomplishing organizational goals are discussed. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP The best action of the leader depends on a range of situational factors. When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred style, such as using transactional or transformational methods. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple. Factors that affect situational decisions include motivation and capability of followers. This, in turn, is affected by factors within the particular situation. The relationship between followers and the leader may be another factor that affects leader behavior as much as it does follower behavior. The leaders' perception of the follower and the situation will affect what they do rather than the truth of the situation

Example: For example, delegating work to an employee that is ill prepared to accept that responsibility may result in the impression that the worker is incompetent. This can lead to frustration for both the manager and worker. Ironically, it is actually the manager's inability to recognize the most effective leadership style, or refusal to switch styles, that is really the cause of an ineffective workforce.