There are three basic styles of leadership. All of us use these three styles. Now, let me pause here for a minute and say that I am not suggesting you change your style. That style makes you the leader that you are. What I am suggesting is that you become flexible with the styles. Would you agree with me that your style works some of the time and fails miserably some of the time? Why is that? Because one style doesn't fit every situation. What I am suggesting is that you use a more flexible situational leadership when it comes to the Leadership Styles. Use the style that best fits the situation and the people involved.

Having said that, what are the three Leadership Styles? The styles are:

1. Autocratic
2. Democratic
3. Free Rein

Let me explain what each style is and when to use it.

Autocratic: The Autocratic Leader is more like a general. The commander of an army. They are quick decision makers and they tell others what to do. We saw this style a great deal in the corporate world in the 1950's through the 1980's. We still see it today but not quite as much as those earlier decades. Why did we see it so much in the past? Well, where did the CEOs and Presidents of organizations get their training? Many of them came out of the military. Is autocratic leadership a good style for the military? Absolutely. Particularly in war time. Why? Because we are in crisis or emergency mode. Decisions had to be made and made quickly or people would die. Autocratic leaders took action and won wars.

After the war, these leaders came back and took their place in the corporate world. They discovered that their civilian counterparts didn't take to orders like their military counterparts. This caused them some challenges. The leaders discovered that their style didn't work in every situation. They learned that they had to be flexible in their leadership styles. There is still a place for autocratic leadership in the corporate world. We have emergencies and other situations that require quick decisions and quick actions. But what we have to do in order to maximize our effectiveness is not get stuck in one style. Use the style that best fits the situation.

Democratic:

The second style of leadership is the Democratic style. This is the leadership style of teamwork. It is run by democracy. We put things to a vote to make decisions and the majority rules. This is great for building team loyalty and participation but let me ask you a question. Should every decision at your office be put to a vote? Of course not. So, when is this a good leadership style to use? When you need to get buy in (by having open discussions where you can answer questions and sell your vision) and when the decisions aren't a major importance. For example, company picnics, field trips, etc... Use this style to create rapport and teamwork.

Free Rein:

In this style of leadership, we get out of the way and let our team do their thing. It is a style where there is definitely no micro management. That is good. The challenge is that your team members have to be excellent, well trained, go getters for it to succeed. If you have a lot of entry level workers or workers who are new to the job, this is not the best style to be in. Those workers will need more of your input and guidance for at least the short term.

Well, there we have it. Three styles of leadership: autocratic, democratic, and free rein. They all have their pluses and they all have their minuses. Use the style that best fits the situation and the team members involved and you will find yourself succeeding in all leadership situations.

This article was excerpted from Mark Bowser's upcoming book The Three Pillars of Success. For more information on the other Leadership Styles, please stay tuned to your next issue of The Empower Newsletter.

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All enduring motivation must ultimately come from within the individual. That is why the words empower and envision are so vital to team performance. It must be your inner power and your own personal vision that propels you, not that of your leader.

The success of your efforts depends not so much on the efforts themselves, but rather on your motive for doing them. The greatest companies and the greatest men and women in all walks of life have achieved their greatness out of a desire to express something within themselves that had to be expressed, a desire to solve a problem using their skills as best they could. This is not to say that many of these individuals did not earn a great deal of money and prestige for what they produced. Many did. But the key to their successes was that they were motivated more by an inner magnificent obsession, a passion, than by any thought of profit or identity.

You may recall from history that the exquisitely beautiful armless statue of Venus de Milo was carved by an unknown sculptor. When a farmer dug up the soon-to-be world-famous work of art while plowing his field, a renowned museum curator sadly reflected what a great pity it was that the sculptor would never be recognized by thousands of admirers, nor would he or she ever know how valuable the statue became hundreds of years later.

The farmer retorted that it must have been a labor of love for someone to be able to have envisioned such perfection and brought it forth with just a chisel and a shapeless piece of stone. "Just creating something of such quality," said the farmer, "would have been payment in full for me."

You can't commission a masterpiece. Human greatness can't be externally motivated. It must be compelled from within. A magnificent obsession is the way you want to live, not just the things you want to own. A magnificent obsession is the person you want to be, not the title on your office door or business card. A magnificent obsession is the mind-set that you have, not the diplomas or awards you earn. It is the worldview you claim as your own, not the collection of stamps on your passport. It is uniquely yours, like your fingerprint or handwriting.

Ask yourself this question: "If it weren't for money, time and personal responsibilities, what would I really love to do with my life?" You and I need to answer it from our own individual perspectives, not simply answer "to help my company, family or country." In addition to these shared visions, autograph your career and life with your own signature.

By personalizing your passion, you will experience the unlimited power from within!

Denis Waitley Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright 2007 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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