Career Development

The Harvard Business Press recently published the Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, edited by Harvard Business School Professors Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana. The editors state that the purpose of the book is to fill the gap between the vast number of books and articles about leadership in the popular press and the lack of rigorous academic research about the subject.

The Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice brings together the most important scholars from fields as diverse as psychology, sociology, and economics to review what is currently known about leadership and to set an agenda for research in the future.

The handbook delves into many different aspects of leadership such as the development of it as a ‘discipline’, how individual leaders can be nurtured and developed and the key issues facing leaders in the modern world. The editors hope that the result of their work will provide a catalyst for elevating the study of leadership to a higher and more rigorous intellectual level, and that it will inform and shape the agenda for leadership research n the future.

The Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice is a large volume (848 pages) of work, but it confirms what many of us know to be true. Leadership is much more than simply ‘climbing the greasy pole’, or gaining positions of power and influence. True leadership has much greater significance than that. Leadership is fundamentally a professional and personal responsibility. Whether it is providing leadership at home, in the community or in business, everyone has a responsibility to be the best leader they can be, and as such the insights provided in this book apply to anyone wishing to gain a greater understanding of leadership, whether they are a parent, teacher, senior executive, business owner, politician or researcher.

The term “leadership style” refers to a leader’s behavior. Behavioral pattern, which the leader reflects in his role as a leader, is often described as the style of leadership. Leadership style is the result of a leader’s philosophy, personality, experience, and value system. It also depends upon the type of followers and the organizational atmosphere prevailing in the enterprise.

There are four types of leadership style. It includes autocratic leadership, participative leadership, free rein leadership and paternalistic leadership. The autocratic leader gives orders that must be obeyed by the subordinates. He determines policies for the group without consulting them, and does not give detailed information about future plans, but simply tells the group what immediate steps they must take. He gives personal praise or criticism to each member on his own initiative and remains aloof from the group for the major part of the time.

A participative leader is one who gives instructions only after consulting the group. He sees to it that policies are worked out in group discussion and with the acceptance of the group. Participative manager decentralizes managerial authority. His decisions are not unilateral like that of the autocrat. Unlike an autocratic leader who controls through the authority he possesses, a participative leader exercises control mostly by using forces within the group.

A free rein leader lets the group lead itself. The free rein leader avoids power. He depends largely upon the group to establish its own goals and work out its own problems. Group members work themselves and provide their own motivation. Under paternalistic leadership, the leader assumes that his function is paternal or fatherly. His attitude is that of treating the relationship between the leader and his group as that of a family with the leader as the head of family. He works to help, guide, protect and keep his followers happily working together as members of a family.

The free rein leadership style is one that favours autonomy and abhors control. This model caters for minimal control by the leader or manager and maximum flexibility for the team members. As such, the team leader often takes a back seat role and functions to coordinate and direct the actions of the team rather than dictate it. It is wise to remember that free rein leadership is at the extreme of freedom, away from the extreme of control, and that most teams operate within the continuum between.

The free rein leadership style may be likened to the role played by a mentor or a coach. Rather than being the one determining the course of action to be taken by a team, the free rein leader or manager offers advice and guides the team through the process, just as how a mentor leads his student in the right direction and how the coach gives his team directions.

The free rein leader is neither actively involved in information gathering and decision making. He acts as a coordinator both in a brainstorming session to gather and consolidate information, and in the final decision making session. This is known as the ‘Gaining Consensus’ method of making decisions, according to Michael Watkins in his book, the First 90 Days. This is unlike the consult-and-decide method in the participative leadership model, nor the dictatorial style in the autocratic leadership model.

Evidently, such a leadership style would be disastrous if administered on a highly inexperienced or immature team. The team may well end up bickering and criticising unconstructively, and no decision would be made eventually. Should individuals in the team be having their individual agenda, they would mount delay tactics, holding back the decision making. Rather, a strong team of professionals who are highly matured should be ideal. This way, each member puts the intent of the team above themselves and their individual agenda, hence contributing to the team’s decision.

Free rein leadership can often be found in teams of professionals, such a team of doctors or engineers, as they form to achieve a goal or solve a problem. It is also often neither transformational nor transactional as the motivation of the team is assumed.