Leadership styles of some great personalities and my learning:

About Hitler’s Leadership Style: Hitler saw huge success due to his powerful and
relentless style of leadership. He used the “Blitzkrieg” tactics which dominated the initial
phase of World War II. Hitler had no trust on his generals and made all decisions on his
own instinct. In his leadership style, the ultimate power to take decision rested with him
and would extend downwards. Hitler was known for his sharp memory for every small
detail. He was very particular about pervious meetings and decisions taken there and did
not forget any small point discussed. He insisted on personal control and displayed
stubbornness and indecisiveness at many instances. He left no room for his general’s
advice and believed that Germany’s victory was because of him alone. He displayed
incapability of taking many decisions and kept on delaying which ultimately saw the
defeat of Germany. (Zapotoczny, W. S)
Learning:
• Leaders should be self confident, which was clearly evident in Hitler’s style.
• Possessing sharp memory would take you long way. Leaders ought to remember
previously discussed arguments and decisions for not to get fooled by others
easily.
• Sometimes it is wise to delay taking decisions, especially when you have the
possibility of situations changing and turning to your favour.
• Not trusting your people will not take you long way. People will loose trust and
respect for the leader as that is what they get from him.
• Taking decisions on instincts is not too safe. It is wise to study the situations and
take steps with calculated risks.

Bill Gates Leadership Style: Bill Gates demonstrates Autocratic as well as Delegate Style
of Leadership. He takes total control of all his dealings. He takes care of every thing that
seems small and keeps an eye on details. He does not accept failures and dislikes
complaints. Gates gives personal interest in recruitment process of special talents in
software industry and also is active in retaining people. He gives autonomy to his
managers to handle their departments their way and makes them answerable for their
handlings. He uses reward power by offering huge compensation packages to attract and
retain talent. He is not often seen using coercive power to get work done or gain personal
benefits. He has tremendous expert power. He is an expert in his subject and his
excellence is never questioned. (Report on Leadership Style of Bill Gates)
Learning:
• It is important for one to have a detailed knowledge of his subject to be successful
in the field and be followed by others. If you have skills and knowledge that is
indispensable, you automatically gain power over others.
• It is necessary to delegate autonomy and responsibility to make your people
independent and for you to spare time for other important activities.
• Recruiting and retaining the right talent is the first step towards achieving
success, as it is the people who would make you successful and you alone can do
little without their help.
Abraham Lincoln’s Leadership Style: Lincoln believed in keeping close touch with his
staff and generals. He would visit them often. He was well known for his ability to take
quick decisions. He was worried about his troops during the War and would visit the sick
and wounded. This gave encouragement to his soldiers and raised their morale. His style
of advising was by giving a suggestion. He generally did not give orders. He was a
strong leader and his leadership style earned him many friends of which were even his
critics. He made decisions on facts and not on instincts. He always made himself
available to his staff and was approachable. (Abraham Lincoln's Leadership Style)
Learning:
• When you are approachable, you can expect to get frank suggestions which can
prove to be very helpful in times of crisis.
• Motivated and happy staff can be formed with a simple practice of meeting
people and keeping in touch with them.
• Always commanding would not work. You need to be witty to get things done out
of people.

Dhirubhai Ambani’s Leadership Style: He was known as an opportunist who never

missed on grabbing on it at the right time. He believed that if a man wants to succeed he
should have a strong hold on the information network and channels. Complete
information on the interest area was the first step towards success. He paid whatever it
took to collect information. This was a key success factor with which he marched ahead
of his competitors. In spite of great success in his field, he gives all the credit to his good
luck and God’s grace. He is sharp in making changes in government policy an
opportunity to start something new and becoming the pioneer. He did not shy off in
copying someone else’s good idea in a better way than him and give him tough
competition.
Learning:
• A good leader should not depend up on anyone for information, but seek it
himself for being successful.
• Copying of idea is not always bad, especially when it is used innovatively to give
a tough fight in competition.
• Success should not get in to one’s head and people look up to leaders that are
humble and down to earth.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Leadership Style: U. S. history has witnessed an era of

leadership excellence under the Presidency of Roosevelt. He had a sensitive,
courageous and a firm leadership style, which was a result of the challenges life
threw at him and his emotional upbringing. He had to battle with disease polio at the
age of 39. Roosevelt was perceived by his staff and subordinates as superhuman due
to the charismatic personality he held. Roosevelt was able to rally out USA from the
great depression of 20th century by his charismatic leadership. (Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s Presidency)

Learning:
Roosevelt is an inspirational example. His strong will teaches to move on in life and
shows that nothing is impossible.
One has to have great deal of courage to overcome weaknesses and shine by doing
something as great as did Roosevelt.

Indira Gandhi’s Leadership Style: She was one of the greatest Prime Ministers India has
ever witnessed. In 1959 she became President of Indian National Congress. She was
elected a India’s Prime Minister in 1966. Her great decisions include nationalization
of major banks in 1969 and her decision to declare War against Pakistan in 1971. She
was a leader with lot of courage, firm attitude, and capability of taking major
decisions on her own. She had to encounter many problems during her tenure as PM
of India like agitation in Punjab for linguistic and religious separatism, famine,
labour unrest, Mizo tribal uprising in northeast and depression amongst the poor.

Learning:

A strong personality and decision making capability makes people look up to you with
respect and believe in your decisions.
Gender would not come into the way of success of a leader if she is confident of what she
is doing. Taking major decisions needs lot of courage, courage to face the failure if
things go wrong.

Mother Teresa’s Leadership Style: She is one of the highly respected and fascinating
women of twentieth century. She has done tremendous service to mankind with sheer
force of determination and faith. She devoted all her life in serving human race. She
became nun at a very early age of 18 and came to India. She founded Missionaries of
Charity in 1948 in Calcutta. She won many prizes for extraordinary work to mankind
and for peace. She was looked up to by people of all class, religion and creed.
(Mother Teresa’s Style of Leadership)

Learning:

It is not always that leaders excel by exercising force or power. Mother Teresa won
people’s heart by her gentle touch and service to the poor.
She won many prizes for her unconditional service to the human race. It is unbelievable
that a person get so much recognition without exercising any kind of coercion or
authority.
A clear goal and determination can take you long way.

Nelson Mandela’s Leadership Style: He was a democratic leader, believed in taking

decisions after discussion and consultation with group members. In his entire
struggle to bring democracy in South Africa, and his fight against apartheid, he
adopted democratic leadership style. The success of Mandela’s leadership style can
be attributed to his opinion of taking consensus. It is most likely to be able to make a
good decision when everyone involved gives suggestion. He is seen as a
 revolutionary leader because of his ability to motivate his followers and empower
them by using his tactic of taking consensus. (Nelson Mandela: A True Leader)

Learning:

Democratic style of leadership can work best when you have the ability to make people
opine and give suggestions.
When you have support of your people it is easier to get things done with confidence.

Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Style: She is a famous political leader in today’s time. She
runs a television talk show and has influenced millions of women across the country.
She makes efforts to pave way for women to have voice in politics. She gives
lectures and raises voice in public against any anti-social issue or injustice in any
form. She is a strong woman with courage to speak her heart out in public. (Oprah
Winfrey’s Leadership Style)

Learning:

Like many other women leaders, she too possesses courage and confidence for taking up
social issues and bringing justice to it.
It is very important to raise your voice through the correct channel and with full
information on a subject before taking up an issue.

Vijay Mallya’s Leadership Style: A famous business tycoon of India, that took UB group
to great heights after he become the chairman in 1983. He has flamboyant and flashy
style of leadership. He believes in determination and a foresight for success. He has
strong command over information and takes calculative decisions. Under his
leadership the group acquired many companies abroad and now it is a group of more
than 60 companies. He has an eye for detail and has a charismatic personality. His
expert power in the beverage field makes him the leader of the industry in India.
(Vijay Mallya’s Double Life)

Learning:

To become a market leader one must have a strong hold over information and an eye for
detail.
A successful leader is one who is able to add to his achievements.

The influence that Culture has on Leadership

Is it possible to determine the degree to which culture affects or influences leadership?

There are many researches like The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Effectiveness Research Program (GLOBE) and others that say that leaders may behave in
a particular way or expectation from leaders or the powers, status and influence bestowed
upon leaders has a varying degree depending upon the country or region they belong to.
Leaders of different countries have different leadership styles and also people of these
countries have different views of leadership style. Like in America, generally two kinds
of views on leadership are found. People seek empowerment from their leaders. Such
leaders grant autonomy to subordinates and also authority is delegated. Leaders in
America are generally known for their risk taking ability and are bold. (Rugh, A. B.
2001)

The Dutch gives lot of value to social equality and terms like leaders and managers carry
a stigma. They would hesitate to admit in public that they hold a managerial position in a
firm.

Arabs are known to worship their leaders so long they are in power while Iranians expect
their leaders to empower them and Malaysians expect their leader to be humble, modest
and dignified. French look up to leaders that are effective negotiators, coalition former
and consensus builder and have a charismatic personality. (Rugh, A. B. 2001)

It was perceived that there is only one single best way of leadership and the style of
leadership remains same in all situations. But, it is observed that leadership style changes
with situation and context. There are national and cultural differences with the world
getting smaller due to globalization and hence there is a need to apply leadership style
based on the cross cultural demand of the situation. The difference in language, region,
religion, geography, economic development, etc are some factors that affect the style of
leadership and they form part of national and cultural differences that affect the work
related attitudes and values. There are many leadership theories developed by Europeans
and Americans, but this does not mean that these styles are applied only in Europe and
North America. The basic leadership function remains the same even though the leaders
may adopt different ways of performing the functions depending upon the cultural
context, as the cultural differences definitely affects the theory and practices of
leadership. Leadership styles may be different depending upon cultural context, but the
basic purpose is facilitating change and involves people who are willing to make that
change happen. But the culture affects the attitude of people towards change to happen.
Change management tactics adopted by leaders again is affected by the culture of that
region or culture. In one culture, change could be brought about easily by persuasion,
collaboration and consultation; other culture may see change happening through gift
giving, socializing or exerting pressure. (Rugh, A. B. 2001)

My Cultural Perception of Leadership:

India is culturally rich country, probably the only country that has more than 28 different
cultures prevalent. But the common thing about Indian culture is the warmth shown to
guests, respect for elders, feeling of sacrifice and compromise rather than fights and
sharing with younger ones. Being an Indian, my leadership style is influenced by the
Indian culture to a great extent. I believe in democratic style of leadership. This suits me
as I believe in sharing of ideas and information with my peers and subordinates. It
harnesses a healthy environment and gives rise to healthy competition. It also raises
morale and feeling of ownership. (House, R. J., 2006)
People around me too to a great extent hold democratic style of leadership. Though some
people may show signs of authoritative style. There are others who show signs of
delegative or participative. This to a larger extent can be attributed to the background
from which they come. People from North India are generally stubborn and dominating.
They have ego problem and show signs of authoritative leadership. They cannot easily
get along with others and believe what they say is the ultimate truth and things should be
done that way. People from South India are docile and calm. They generally show signs
of delegative or participative leadership. Also they belong to a culture where parents
discuss things with children and a collective decision is taken by the family. This
background makes them participative kind of leader where they give equal opportunity to
their staff to participate in decision making. (House, R. J., 2006)

In a multi cultural organization, it is very important for the management to see what kind
of leaders they have. This is so because people from different background have different
values and beliefs. Some people are extremely sensitive while some are practical. Some
are indifferent towards others feelings while some are lazy to work. A leadership style
should be such that can handle employee in an organization culturally rich. This kind of
organization should have a situation based leadership style. Such organization would face
issues that needs to be handle differently. Sometimes the leaders would require to be
strict and take a decision based on his experience and instinct while at other instances he
might require to take his men in confidence and understand their opinion for coming to a
better solution to a problem. (House, R. J., 2006)

Interpretation of scores

Self Assessment 1:

My score for Task Structure is 5.2, which is greater than 4, which indicates a possibility
to act as a substitute for task oriented leadership. I believe that the job that I perform
requires specific knowledge and skills which makes it little difficult for others to
perform. For example: I am in technical recruitment team and look after the recruitment
of candidates for IT department. This requires knowledge of the kind of business we are
into, what software we work on, etc.

My score for Intrinsic Satisfaction is 4, which means my job gives me maximum

satisfaction and it would be difficult for others to perform this kind of job. People
oriented leadership means you believe in assigning task to people, guide them through
the process and are always available for support. My leadership style does not match with
People oriented approach.

Self Assessment 2:

My score is 39, which means I believe that external forces are responsible for what
happens to me. Example: Recruiting right candidate is affected by salary package,
poaching by competitors, lengthy processes, non availability of top management for final
round, etc.
Self Assessment 3:

Develops followers into leaders - 19

Inspires followers to go beyond their own self-interest – 21

My leader is helpful at most of the times but somewhere fails to transform followers into
leaders. He is most of the time willing to help followers to develop their skills and in
their growth.

Self Assessment 4:

Independent Thinking Total Score - 32

Active Engagement Total Score – 34
Both the scores fall in the middle level. It is the pragmatist style of followership. This
shows that I have orientation for the success of my goals and goals of the organization.

Self Assessment 5:

Number of “Nos” to odd numbered items are more than number of “yes” to even
numbered questions. This shows that I have managerial qualities. I would be able to
manage my task better than leading change or people.

The three Leadership skills that I would like to develop would be:
1. Confidence in the ability of my staff
2. Guiding people instead of teaching
3. Follow ups

Specific area that I would like to improve is interpersonal relationship between me and
my subordinates. By doing so my goal is to smoothen the processes that many a time’s
faces hurdle due to lack of communication and poor interpersonal relationship.

Actions that I would take to develop the leadership skill:

1. Conduct fortnight meetings with subordinates and get involved in discussions of
how things are moving and if they need any guidance or support.
2. One to one meeting with subordinates to understand if they have any grievance or
misunderstanding.
3. Arranging inter-departmental gatherings and seminars.
4. Assigning challenging tasks to my subordinates and giving them full autonomy to
conduct it their way.
5. Taking frequent suggestions for new job or task.

Outcomes that would suggest achievement of goals can be:

1. Number of suggestions received from subordinates during the meeting.
2. Whether subordinates are able to open their heart and come up with grievances.
3. Number of subordinates participating in inter - departmental meets and seminars.
Based on the goals decided to be achieved, an evaluation form is to be prepared to
measure if these desired outcomes are achieved in specified time to meet the goals set. As
these outcomes are measurable, it would give quite perfect analysis of performance.

Value based Leadership and its implication on day to day life:

We as human beings are known by our values. The activities of getting out of bed and
heading for our work, the type of work we do, our company of friends, our relationship
with people and the company we lead, all are determined by our values. Our decisions
and actions are influenced by the values we hold. We feel happy and alive when we
honour our values. But on ignoring them in our daily activities we feel forces, unhappy,
unnatural and out of step. Our view of the outer world is filtered through our values and
beliefs. It is important for us to understand our values as everything we perceive about
the outer world, is screened through our values and beliefs. (Value Based leadership)
Example: I have a colleague, Peter, who is working with me on the same client as I am.
We have a client who is a big account for our company. Peter is Sr. Relationship manager
where as I am Jr. Relationship Manager. Both of us take the same destination train back
from office, but our timings do not match. Peter generally leaves office one or two hours
after I leave. One day we happened to be on the same train where I observed Peter
consuming 2 cans of beer. This was in addition of taking 5 to 6 cups of coffee in office. I
immediately believed he was doing this to beat the stress of office. I approached him and
asked him whether he did to beat the stress and he replied that it is important for him as
he has to work long hours to entertain the client and to keep the boss happy. This was
against my values. I believed that working smart and completing your task on time is a
sign of efficient employee, whereas Peter believed that working long hours would make
boss happy. (DeGrosky, M.)

Leadership’s influence on Stakeholders:

Leader’s acts and behaviour affects the followers. Followers look upon the Leader and
idolize him. Leader has to consider certain “should” and “should not” for ethical
execution of behaviour to set a proper example for the stakeholders. Leaders have to take
a clearer view of the moral dimension of their decisions by methodically evaluating
“shoulds” and “should nots”. For example: Father may lie about the local address of their
residence to get admission in the school of his choice for his son, this gives rise to ethical
principle which arrives from the values of honesty, raises questions on moral courage and
integrity when the cost is high for doing the right thing, questions on fairness when other
parents too are trying to send their children to the school and also you become
answerable to civic duties when you break laws and don’t do your share. So, the parents
who consider ethical principle before providing address would make a good moral
decision. Thus, making a decision would involve passing of each choices through filters
of core values. (Components of an Ethical Decision)

I being a leader, my choices of decision would affect my followers. Smallest of things

like my eating habit would also affect the way my followers think about me. Example: if
I eat too much of fried stuff, that would affect my health, which in turn would make me
seriously ill, I would have to stay back home and not attend office, that would affect my
work, my subordinates would not get guidance which in turn would affect their work and
the work of the company ultimately. So, it is my values that will help me make a good
choice of what food should I eat so that all the stakeholders (my family and my office
staff) are favorably affected by it. Leaders of character feel it is their moral obligation to
think of all the stakeholders who would be affected by their decision making. Anyone
who is affected by a decision, be it family members, office staff or any other group is a
stakeholder with a moral claim on the leader. (Components of an Ethical Decision)

Ethical leaders feel it is their moral obligation to think about all the stakeholders before
making a choice of decision. Example: A decision of working 6 days a week from 5 and
a half days a week would involve thinking of your staff and all the other options to
increase productivity. Will this decision affect the working mothers? When will your
staff fulfill their duties towards their children? Etc. these are certain questions that needs
to be answered by the leader before taking a policy decision. Taking a moral view of the
decision would avoid the unintended harm to the stakeholders. (Tschirhart, M., 2001)

Leadership and Social Responsibility:

In today’s time, leaders are expected to behave responsibly and make a reasonable
contribution to developing a sustainable society. Share holders expect the business to
provide results that go beyond their increasing share holder value. Leaders are expected
to adopt and implement ethical code of conduct, provide fair job opportunities, avoid
corporate politics, shun corruption practices, look after the needs and requirements of
their employees and protect natural environment. This calls for leaders to take proactive
measures in building a sustainable society. Stakeholders expect leaders to generate a
range of benefits for them from their business initiatives, goods and services.

Many researches have been conducted on this and it has been found out that it takes a
leader to transform the company into sustainable, socially responsible enterprise. He has
to be an influential leader and a witty manager. (Szekely, F)

Leaders and companies have understood that it is their responsibility to be considerate

towards the society at large and they have been engaging themselves in commitments to
lives of their staff, local communities and to the society at large by philanthropic
activities, civic involvement and environmental care. There may be their personal benefit
as they view corporate social responsibility as a weapon against war for talent in the
global labour market. (Szekely, F)

We see organizations taking lead in social causes like eradication of child labour, helping
women to be independent, developing and maintaining gardens and planting trees, etc.
Example: Nirma developing gardens and planting trees on highway of Ahmedabad –
Gandhinagar. There are various trusts created by Tata Group for philanthropic activities
and primarily they support higher education of poor people. (Leadership and Corporate
Social Responsibility)

It is generally seen that leaders of Transactional style are good at specifying in-active and
re-active CSR goals. They have the ability to clarify goals to their followers and
motivating them to achieve them. These leaders are more or less similar to the ordinary
managers in organization who have strong internal control of processes. Transactional
leaders are interested in Corporate Self Interest as this style of leadership is efficiency
oriented. (Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility)

Charismatic leaders inspire followers by personality, so they primarily focus on internal

operations of the company. They have ability to display the vision of the future of the
company combined with tough personal commitment and strong character. Charismatic
leaders have a great influence on their followers and they trust him without any doubt.
Charismatic leaders show a great deal of responsiveness towards their followers and a
great deal of corporate social responsiveness towards society. Example: many celebrities
take up social causes like AIDS awareness, fight against Polio, etc. they have influential
personality and are looked upon by people. So they are in a better position to spread the
message and do good to the society. (Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility)

Thus, leaders have a vital role to play in the well being of society and it is their social
responsibility to do good to the society in which they operate. This fact is now been
welcomed by corporates and they have been making efforts to give back to the society by
way of taking social issues, helping keep environment clean, etc.
Reference:

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Components of an Ethical Decision: Commitment, Consciousness, and Competency.

(n. d). Retrieved February 21, 2011, from
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