MTP- UNIT 4

UNIT – IV: Syllabus

Directing:Leadership – Dimension, Style; Communication – Process,
Types and Challenges of effective communication; Co-ordination –nature and
purpose,
---------------------------------------------------------
DIRECTING
Directing is a very essential function which helps ensure that the employees perform to the best
of their abilities and achieve the organisational goals effectively.
The lack of a direction in an organisation will result in the employees being clueless about what
to do next and will increase inefficiency, thereby resulting in a devastating impact on the
business and revenue generation.

Meaning of Directing
Directing is defined as that management function that provides the guidance and direction to
the employees of the organisation that enables them to perform effectively and efficiently for
the development of the organisation.

Elements of Directing
Directing as a management function comprises the following elements.
1. Communication
2. Supervision
3. Motivation
4. Leadership
Communication: Communication is one of the most basic functions of management, it is the
process by which a piece of information is transferred from one person to another in an
organisation.
The purpose of communication in an organisation is to send across any set of instructions,
orders or information related to the improvement of the operational efficiency.
Communication can always be two sided, where the flow of information is from supervisor to
subordinates and vice versa.
Supervision: Supervision is the next step after information is conveyed by the supervisor to
the employees regarding the work that needs to be done. It is that stage where the supervisor
oversees if the subordinates are following what has been instructed to them.
Managers act as supervisors and they ensure that the work is going as per their instructions. It
is the duty of a supervisor to make sure that all instructions are properly followed and the
subordinates are doing as they are instructed.
Supervisors act as problem solvers of the subordinates regarding any issues with the
instructions or the process.
Motivation: Motivation is one of the key elements of directing. Issuing of order to the
subordinates by the supervisor does not guarantee that it will be followed exactly as was asked
for.
For getting the desired outcome, the employees need to be motivated by the managers which
leads to the task being completed efficiently. Motivation is a force that makes an individual
perform to the best of his abilities in order to complete a set of tasks or instructions.
Motivation can be in the form of monetary gains such as incentives or bonus, it can be non-
monetary such as appreciation or growth.
Leadership: Leadership is that element of directing that involves motivation and persuasion
in order to achieve the desired goals. A leader is defined as a person who is able to influence
other people and inspires them to follow the instructions provided.
Leadership may be defined as the process of influencing the behaviour of people by
making them strive voluntarily towards the achievement of goals.

Communication is a two-way process wherein the message in the form of

ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions is transmitted between two or more
persons with the intent of creating a shared understanding.
Effective communication is when the message conveyed by the sender is
understood by the receiver in exactly the same way as it was intended.

Communication Process
The communication is a dynamic process that begins with the
conceptualizing of ideas by the sender who then transmits the message
through a channel to the receiver, who in turn gives the feedback in the form
of some message or signal within the given time frame. Thus, there are
Seven major elements of communication process:
1. Sender: The sender or the communicator is the person who initiates
the conversation and has conceptualized the idea that he intends to
convey it to others.
2. Encoding: The sender begins with the encoding process wherein he
uses certain words or non-verbal methods such as symbols, signs,
body gestures, etc. to translate the information into a message. The
sender’s knowledge, skills, perception, background, competencies,
etc. has a great impact on the success of the message.
3. Message: Once the encoding is finished, the sender gets the
message that he intends to convey. The message can be written, oral,
symbolic or non-verbal such as body gestures, silence, sighs, sounds,
etc. or any other signal that triggers the response of a receiver.
4. Communication Channel: The Sender chooses the medium through
which he wants to convey his message to the recipient. It must be
selected carefully in order to make the message effective and correctly
interpreted by the recipient. The choice of medium depends on the
interpersonal relationships between the sender and the receiver and
also on the urgency of the message being sent. Oral, virtual, written,
sound, gesture, etc. are some of the commonly used communication
mediums.
 5. Receiver: The receiver is the person for whom the message is
intended or targeted. He tries to comprehend it in the best possible
manner such that the communication objective is attained. The degree
to which the receiver decodes the message depends on his knowledge
of the subject matter, experience, trust and relationship with the
sender.
6. Decoding: Here, the receiver interprets the sender’s message and
tries to understand it in the best possible manner. An effective
communication occurs only if the receiver understands the message
in exactly the same way as it was intended by the sender.
7. Feedback: The Feedback is the final step of the process that ensures
the receiver has received the message and interpreted it correctly as
it was intended by the sender. It increases the effectiveness of the
communication as it permits the sender to know the efficacy of his
message. The response of the receiver can be verbal or non-verbal.
Note: The Noise shows the barriers in communications. There are chances
when the message sent by the sender is not received by the recipient.

Types of Communication

On the basis of Organisational Structure

• Formal communication
• Informal Communication
On the basis of Direction
• Downward Communication
• Upward Communication
• Horizontal Communication
• Diagonal Communication
On the basis of Mode of Expression
• Non Verbal Communication
• Verbal Communication

Formal Communication
Formal communication is a flow of information through formally established channels
in an organization. These type of communication may be oral or written.
• Mostly controlled by managers
• It is hierarchical in nature and associated with the superior and subordinate
relationship
• Generally linked with formal status and positions of a person
• It may be upward, downward and horizontal.
Advantages of formal communication
• Follows the principle of unity of command
• The orderly flow of information and systematic
• Helps in fixing responsibilities for better efficiency
• Managers have full control of nature and direction of communication
 • Helps in maintaining authority relationship
• The flow of instruction is very specific, clear and definite.
• Helpful in maintaining direct contact with subordinates.
Disadvantage of formal communication
• It is a time-consuming process
• It lacks personal contacts and relationship
• It may be resisted and distorted
• It delays the communication message due to the formal procedure
• It obstructs the free, smooth and accurate circulation of information
Informal Communication
Informal Communication refers to communication on the basis of personal relations. It
is a type of communication which is unstructured, unofficial and unplanned.
• It does not follow the formal channels established by the management
• It often flows between friends and intimates and related to personal rather than
‘positional’ matters.
• It cannot be demonstrated on the chart and not regulated by formal rules and
procedure.
The informal communication system is built around the social relationship of the members of
the organisation Herbert Simon

Informal communication is a result of social interaction and satisfies the natural desire
of people to communicate with each other. Informal communication is helpful in
countering the effects of work fatigue and monotony and serving as a source of job-
related information.

It is also referred to as grapevine communication. Grape wine communication

carries unofficial information. It is not a reliable source of communication. Managers
should be very careful about such communication.
Advantages of informal communication
• It is a flexible and reliable channel of communication
• It creates mutual co-operation
• It may work as a valuable aid in communicating organizational rules, values and
morale
• It is helpful in building teamwork in the organisation
• It provides effective feedback to the manager
• It supplements formal communication
• It creates successful public relations in the organisation
• If implemented efficiently, it will leads to the success
Disadvantages of informal communication
• It creates misunderstanding and uncertainty
• Due to different perceptions of the persons involved in whispering, chain
interpretations of information may change
• It is difficult to believe in information as its source cannot be identified
• It sometimes leads to leak secret information
• The information passes through it is inaccurate and distorted
• It is difficult to control it as its flow and direction cannot be checked

Downward Communication
Communication that takes place from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command
is known as downward communication.
Such type of communication may be in the form of orders, instructions, policies,
programmes etc. It may be written or verbal.
The following messages are induced in this type of communication:
• Confirmation regarding performance
• Work assignment and directions
• Orders, guidance and responsibilities
• Ideological type of information
• Organisation Procedure and practices.
Advantages of downward communication
• It is helpful in controlling the subordinate
• It explains the plans and policies of the organisation to employees.
• It is a tool to delegate authority
• It is helpful to tie among employees at a different level
• It encourages the effectiveness of upward communication through feedback
• It helps in preparing the people to introduce change
Disadvantages of downward communication
• It tends to promote one-way communication
• It is time-consuming because information passes through various levels
• Sometimes a manager may filter the information or hold back some of the
information due to fear that it might be unpalatable
• As communication takes time, sometimes message become ineffective and can
lose significance
Upward Communication
When message are transmitted from bottom to top of the organisational hierarchy, it
is known as upward communication.
The main function of upward communication is to supply information to top
management. It is essentially participative in nature and can flourish only in a
democratic organisational environment. It may be in the form of progress report,
suggestions, grievances, complaints etc.

Advantages of upward communication

• Management can use feedback effectively in their plan and procedures
• Help subordinate to communicate their views to top management
• It supports innovative ideas and suggestion
• Support in harmony and mutual co-operation among management and subordinate
• The managers are able to evaluate the impact of communication
Disadvantages of upward communication
• Subordinate provides only favourable information to upper management
• It may be discouraged due to lack of proper response of top management
• It takes a lot of time to pass the message to higher level
• Possibility of wilful manipulation of information to attain personal goals.
• There arise a threat that superior may react negatively
Horizontal Communication
When communication takes place between two or more persons who are working at
same levels it is known as horizontal communication.
This type of communication takes place mostly during a committee meeting or
conferences. The main object of such communication is to establish inter-
departmental co-ordination.
Advantages of horizontal communication
• It helps in avoiding duplication of work
• It solves inter-department conflicts
• It facilitates establishing co-ordination between different departments of the
organisation
• Communication process is computed smoothly without any barrier.
 • It helps in maintaining social and emotional support among the peer group.
Disadvantages of horizontal communication
• There is a lack of motivation to communicate
• Usually, they hide information due to rivalry between them
• It lacks authoritativeness

Diagonal Communication
Diagonal communication is an exchange of information between the persons at a
different level across departmental lines.
This type of communication is used to spread information at different levels of an
organization to improve understanding and co-ordination so as to achieve
organisational objectives.
Thus, where the persons who are neither working in the same department nor has
similar level are communicating, it is said to be diagonal communication. It cuts across
the levels of organisational structure.

Advantages of diagonal communication

• It increases organisational effectiveness
• It facilitates organisational change
• It creates integrity and harmony in the organisation
• It helps to speed up the action and save time
Disadvantages of diagonal communication
• It violates the principle of unity of command
• It is an unsystematic manner of communicating.

Non Verbal Communication

Communication through expressions, gestures or posture is nonverbal
communication. It refers to the flow of information, through facial expressions, tone of
voice and other body movements.
In other words, it is a type of communication other than words. It conveys the feeling,
emotions, attitude of a person to another. A person can communicate his feeling to
others quickly and economically by using a non-verbal form of communications. This
does not require the use of words as a person can express his feelings by his body
language.
Some important points of nonverbal communication are:
• Body Language: Posture, Gesture, Eye Contact, Silence etc.
• Proximity: Space (intimate space, public space), Time, Surroundings etc.
• Para Language: Voice, Volume, Pause, Pitch, Proper stress etc
Advantages of non verbal Communication
• It is reliable source of information
• Message may be conveyed quickly
• It is an economic way of communications
• It creates better-understanding
Disadvantages of non verbal Communication
• Expressions and gestures are seen by anyone so it lacks secrecy.
• It creates misunderstanding due to non-understanding of the gestures
• It requires the physical presence of both parties
• Long and detailed message cannot be conveyed
• The meaning of gesture changes according to time and place, thus it is difficult to
understand universally
• There is no written proof in case of any dispute in future.
Verbal Communication
Verbal Communication is an exchange of information by words either written or oral.
Verbal communication consists of speaking, listening, writing, reading etc. It is the
most preferred mode of communication.
It may be of two types of Verbal Communication:
1. Oral Communication
2. Written Communication
Oral Communication
When a message is expressed through spoken words, it may be either through face
to face conversations or with the help of electronic mode such as telephone, cellular
phone, etc.

It may also be in the form of informal conversation, group discussions, meeting etc. It
is a more effective means of exchange of information because the receiver not only
hears the message but also observes the physical gestures of the speaker.

Advantages of oral communication

• Oral communication is useful in providing good leadership

• It provides an opportunity to participate in all the members in decision making
• It saves time and message reach to the receiver very quickly
• It is an economic source of communications
• It is more effective as body language can be observed along with the hearing of the
message
• Reaction can be received easily and quickly
• The message can be conveyed clearly because, in case of any confusion, the
clarification can be sought immediately.
Disadvantages of oral communication

• It requires the presence of both parties, i.e. sender and receiver

• The major drawback of this type of communication is lack of proof, thus it has no
legal validity
• It is not suitable when the messages are lengthy
• It does not provide sufficient time for thinking before conveying the message
• It involves a high cost if both parties are at distance place
• The message can be distorted.
Written Communication
When opinions are exchanged in written form, rather than by spoken words, it is knows
as written communication.
It may be expressed through charts, pictures and diagrams. It includes newspapers,
reports, letters, circulars magazines etc. While using written communication, words
should be select very carefully because message ones sent can not be altered. it is
formal in nature and cannot be overlooked.

Advantages of written communication

• It provides a future reference: it becomes a permanent record and beneficial for

formulating new policies.
• It is accurate. Mistakes are not likely to occur as it is open for verification and its
authenticity can be checked.
 • It does not require the physical presence of both parties.
• It ensures transmission of information in a uniform manner
• It is useful to transmit complex information and it facilitates the assignation of
responsibilities
• It usually removes conflicts and misunderstanding
• It facilitates to convey a message to a large number of persons at the same time
• Written communication is acceptable as a legal document.
Disadvantages of written communication

• It is a time and money consuming way of communication

• It lacks secrecy because message passes through various hands, thus, it is said to
be a double-edged weapon
• It is not useful in emergency circumstances
• It has no chance to alter the message ones transmitted
• It is not possible to get immediate feedback
• It becomes unimpressive if drafted poorly
• It may be interpreted in the wrong manner
• It requires unnecessary formalities.

CHALLENGES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:

Communication can not be regarded as effective when it creates a common understanding

of the idea communicated. A communication can be called as effective only when it brings
about the expected behavioural change in the receiver.

Barriers or challenges to effective communication are:

PERSONAL BARRIERS:

1. Non-Clarity in idea to be communicated

2. Semantic problems
3. Information overload
4. Emotional disconnects
How the receiver feels at the time of receipt of
information influences effectively how
he interprets the information. For example, if the receiver feels that the
communicator is in a jovial mood, he interprets that the information being
sent by the communicator to be good and interesting. Extreme emotions
and jubilation or depression are quite likely to hinder the effectiveness
of communication. A person's ability to encode a message canbecome
impaired when the person is feeling strong emotions. For example, when
you are angry, it is harder to consider the other person's viewpoint and
to choose words carefully. The angrier you are, the harder this task
becomes. Extreme emotions - suchas jubilation or depression - are most
likely to hinder effective communication
5. Lack credibility or confidence
6. Inattention
7. Status consciousness
8. Selective perception
Selective perception means seeing what one wants to see. The receiver, in the
communication process, generally resorts to selective perception i.e., he selectively
perceives the message based on the organizational requirements, the needs and
characteristics, background of the employees etc. Perceptual distortion is one of the
 distressing barriers to the effective communication. In our regular activities, we tend to see
those things that please us and to
reject or ignore unpleasant things. For example, the employment interviewer who expects
a female job applicant to put her family ahead of her career is likely to see that in female
applicants, regardless of whether the applicants feel that way or not
9. Filtering / Distortion
Filtering refers to a sender manipulating information so it will be seen
more favourablyby the receiver.
10. Halo effect
The term "halo effect" refers to the process of forming opinions based on one element from
a group of elements and generalizing that perception to all other elements. For example, in an
organization, a good attendance record may cause positive judgements about productivity,
attitude, or quality of work. In performance evaluation system, the halo effect refers to the
practice of singling out one trait of an employee (either good or bad) and using this as a basis
for judgement of the total employee (e.g., seeing the well-dressed manager as the "good"
manager).
11. Stereotyping
Stereotyping is abarrier to communications because those who stereotype others use
selective perception in their communication and tend to hear only those things that confirm their
stereotyped images.

12. Poor listening / passive listening

13. Preoccupation
14. Projection
Projection has two meanings.
(a) Projecting one's own motives into others behaviour. For example, managers
who are motivated by money may assume their subordinates are also motivated
by it. If the subordinate's prime motive is something other than money, serious
problems may arise.
(b) The use of defense mechanism to avoid placing blame on oneself. As a defense
mechanism, the projection phenomenon operates to protect the ego from
unpleasant
communications. Frequently, individuals who have a particular fault will see the
same fault in others, making their own fault seem not so serious.
15. Reluctance to communicate
For a variety of reasons, managers are sometimes reluctant to transmit messages.
The reasons could be:-
l They may doubt their ability to do so.
l They may dislike or be weary of writing or talking to others.
l They may hesitate to deliver bad news because they do not want to face a
negative
16. Use of Conflicting Signals
A sender is using conflicting signals when he or she sends inconsistent messages.
Avertical message might conflict with a nonverbal one. For example, if a manager
says to his employees, "If you have a problem, just come to me. My door is always
open", but he looks annoyed whenever an employee knocks on his door". Then we
say the manager is sending conflicting messages. When signals conflict, the
receivers of the message have
to decide which, if any, to believe.

Challenges in channel:
17. Faulty equipment
18. Noise in channel
Organisational barriers:
19. Tall organisation structure
20. Too much reliance on formal channel
21. Status difference
The organizational hierarchy pose another barrier to communication within
organization,
especially when the communication is between employee and manager. This is so
because the employee is dependent on the manager as the primary link to the
organization and hence more likely to distort upward communication than either
horizontal or downward communication.

22. Inter-departmental conflicts

23. Inter personal conflict / rivalry

Leadership:
Leadership is that element of directing that involves motivation and persuasion in order to
achieve the desired goals. A leader is defined as a person who is able to influence other people
and inspires them to follow the instructions provided.
In other words, leadership is the act of inspiring leading, guiding and motivating the
subordinates to achieve the organisational goals.

Everybody defines leadership differently but John C Maxwell defines

leadership as, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and
shows the way.” Irrespective of how you define a leader, he or she can
prove to be a difference maker between success and failure. A good
leader has a futuristic vision and knows how to turn his ideas into real-
world success stories. In this article, we take an in-depth look at some of
the important leadership qualities that separate good leaders from a bad
one.

DIMENSIONS OF LEADERDHIP/ QUALITIES OF A LEADER

1. Honesty and integrity

2. Confidence
3. Inspire Others
4. Commitment and Passion
5. Good Communicator
6. Decision Making Capabilities
7. Accountability
8. Delegation and Empowerment
9. Creativity and Innovation
 10. Empathy
11. Resilience
12. Emotional Intelligence
13. Humility
14. Transparency
15. Vision and Purpose

1. Honesty and Integrity

The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably

integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is
on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” Honesty and
integrity are two important ingredients which make a good leader. How
can you expect your followers to be honest when you lack these qualities
yourself? Leaders succeed when they stick to their values and core beliefs
and without ethics, this will not be possible.

2. Confidence

To be an effective leader, one should be confident enough to ensure that

others follow your commands. If you are unsure about your own decisions
and qualities, then your subordinates will never follow you. As a leader,
you have to be oozing with confidence, show some swagger and
assertiveness to gain the respect of your subordinates. This does not
mean that you should be overconfident, but you should at least reflect the
degree of confidence required to ensure that your followers trust you as a
leader.

3. Inspire Others

Probably the most difficult job for a leader is to persuade others to follow.
It can only be possible if you inspire your followers by setting a good
example. When the going gets tough, they look up to you and see how
you react to the situation. If you handle it well, they will follow you. As a
leader, should think positive and this positive approach should be visible
through your actions. Stay calm under pressure and keep the motivation
level up. As John Quincy Adams puts it, “If your actions inspire others
to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a
leader.” If you are successful in inspiring your subordinates, you can
easily overcome any current and future challenge easily.

4. Commitment and Passion

Your teams look up to you and if you want them to give them their all, you
will have to be passionate about it too. When your teammates see you
getting your hands dirty, they will also give their best shot. It will also help
you to gain the respect of your subordinates and infuse new energy in
your team members, which helps them to perform better. If they feel that
you are not fully committed or lacks passion, then it would be an uphill
task for the leader to motivate your followers to achieve the goal.

5. Good Communicator

Until you clearly communicate your vision to your team and tell them the
strategy to achieve the goal, it will be very difficult for you to get the results
you want. Simply put, if you are unable to communicate your message
effectively to your team, you can never be a good leader. A good
communicator can be a good leader. Words have the power to motivate
people and make them do the unthinkable. If you use them effectively,
you can also achieve better results.

6. Decision-Making Capabilities

Apart from having a futuristic vision, a leader should have the ability to
take the right decision at the right time. Decisions taken by leaders have
a profound impact on masses. A leader should think long and hard before
taking a decision but once the decision is taken, stand by it. Although,
most leaders take decisions on their own, but it is highly recommended
that you consult key stakeholders before taking a decision. After all, they
are the ones who The 34th President of United States,
Dwight.D.Eisenhower once said, or suffer from your decisions.
7. Accountability

When it comes to accountability, you need to follow the approach

highlighted by Arnold H Glasow when he said, “A good leader takes little
more than his share of the blame and little less than his share of the
credit.” Make sure that every one of your subordinates is accountable for
what they are doing. If they do well, give them a pat on the back but if they
struggle, make them realize their mistakes and work together to improve.
Holding them accountable for their actions will create a sense of
responsibility among your subordinates and they will go about the
business more seriously.

8. Delegation and Empowerment

You cannot do everything, right. It is important for a leader to focus on key

responsibilities while leaving the rest to others. By that, I mean
empowering your followers and delegating tasks to them. If you continue
to micromanage your subordinates, it will develop a lack of trust and more
importantly, you will not be able to focus on important matters, as you
should be. Delegate tasks to your subordinates and see how they perform.
Provide them with all the resources and support they need to achieve the
objective and give them a chance to bear the responsibility.

9. Creativity and Innovation

What separates a leader from a follower? Steve Jobs, the greatest

visionary of our time answers this question this way, “Innovation
distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” In order to get ahead
in today’s fast-paced world, a leader must be creative and innovative at
the same time. Creative thinking and constant innovation is what makes
you and your team stand out from the crowd. Think out of the box to come
up with unique ideas and turn those ideas and goals into reality.
10. Empathy

Last but certainly not the least, is empathy. Leaders should develop
empathy with their followers. Unfortunately, most leaders follow a
dictatorial style and neglect empathy altogether. Due to this, they fail to
make a closer connection with their followers. Understanding the
problems of your followers and feeling their pain is the first step to become
an effective leader. Even that is not enough until you work hard and
provide your followers with the suitable solution to their problems.

11.Resilience

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. You might have heard
this adage many times, but did you know that great leaders also follow
this rule. They are resilient and have a positive attitude. Irrespective of
how difficult the circumstances might be, you will find them rallying their
followers. While most people are busy in complaining about the problems,
great leaders always focus on solutions, not the problems.

12. Emotional Intelligence

Good leaders always have higher influence but how do they increase their
influence on the point where people accept what they say. They do this
by connecting with people emotionally. That is where emotional
intelligence comes into play.

Here are some of the reasons why a leader should be emotionally

intelligent.

• Manage emotions effectively

• Better social awareness
• Seamless communications
• Conflict Resolution

With emotional intelligence, leaders can control their emotions, which

prevents negative emotions from influencing their decision-making skills.
As a result, they are less likely to make hasty decisions. Moreover,
emotionally intelligent leaders are great at understanding the emotions
and care about the feelings of others. That is not all, leaders who have
this leadership quality not only handles conflict in a better way but also
play an important role in conflict resolution.

13. Humility

“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”—Thomas

Merton

How would you feel when you are promoted to leadership status? You will
feel proud. A good leader is always selfless and always think about his or
her followers. That is why the leadership styles most great leaders adopt
put lots of emphasis on problem-solving and team dynamics instead of
focusing on self-promotion.

14. Transparency

One of the best ways to win the trust of your followers is by being
transparent. Instead of hiding information, you should openly share it with
them. By giving visibility to your followers, they will buy into your vision
and support you with conviction in achieving the goal. More importantly, it
gives your followers clarity, autonomy and make them feel more
empowered while keeping them engaged.

15. Vision and Purpose

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision,

passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to
completion.”—Jack Welch

Good leaders always have a vision and purpose. They not only visualize
the future themselves but also share their vision with their followers. When
their followers were able to see the big picture, they can see where they
are heading. A great leader goes above and beyond and explain why they
are moving in the direction they are moving and shares the strategy and
action plan to achieve that goal.

Leadership Styles in Management

A leadership style is a leader's method of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating
people. Various authors have proposed identifying many different leadership styles as exhibited
by leaders in the political, business or other fields.

A leader is a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a

goal while leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards
achieving a common goal. Different leadership styles will result in different impact
to organization. The leader has to choose the most effective approach of leadership
style depending on situation because leadership style is crucial for a team success. By
understanding these leadership styles and their impact, everyone can become a more
flexible and better leader.

8 leadership styles:

1. Transactional Leadership
2. Autocratic Leadership
3. Transformational Leadership
4. Servant Leadership
5. Charismatic Leadership
6. Democratic Leadership or Participative Leadership
7. Laissez-Faire Leadership
8. Bureaucratic Leadership

1. Transactional Leadership

Transactional is a term used to classify a group of leadership theories that inquire the
interactions between leaders and followers. This style of leadership starts with the
premise that team members agree to obey their leader totally when they take a job
on. The “transaction” is usually that the organization pays the team members, in return
for their effort and compliance. As such, the leader has the right to “punish” team
members if their work doesn’t meet the pre-determined standard. Team members can
do little to improve their job satisfaction under transactional leadership. The leader
could give team members some control of their income/reward by using incentives
that encourage even higher standards or greater productivity. Alternatively a
transactional leader could practice “management by exception”, whereby, rather than
rewarding better work, he or she would take corrective action if the required standards
were not met.

Transactional leadership is really just a way of managing rather a true leadership style, as the focus is
on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work, but remains a
common style in many organizations.

2. Autocratic Leadership

Under the autocratic leadership styles, all decision-making powers are centralized in
the leader as shown such leaders are dictators. Autocratic leadership is an extreme
form of transactional leadership, where a leader exerts high levels of power over his or
her employees or team members. People within the team are given few opportunities
for making suggestions, even if these would be in the team’s or organization’s interest.

Autocratic leadership style is often considered the classical approach. It is one in which
the manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. The
manager does not consult employees, nor are they allowed to give any input.
Employees are expected to obey orders without receiving any explanations. The
motivation environment is produced by creating a structured set of rewards and
punishments. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This
is considered appropriate when decisions genuinely need to be taken quickly, when
there’s no need for input, and when team agreement isn’t necessary for a successful
outcome.

Many people resent being treated like this. Because of this, autocratic leadership often
leads to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. Also, the team’s output does
not benefit from the creativity and experience of all team members, so many of the
benefits of teamwork are lost.

Autocratic style of leadership is appropriate, where the subordinates are uneducated

because here the leader gives orders which are to be obeyed.

Advantages of the autocratic style of leadership are:

(i) Autocratic style permits quick decision-making.
(ii) It provides strong concentrated powers to the leader.
(iii) This style may yield positive results when great speed is required

For some routine and unskilled jobs, however, this style can remain effective, where
the advantages of control outweigh the disadvantages.
3.Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is a leadership style that is defined as leadership that

creates valuable and positive change in the followers. A transformational leader
focuses on “transforming” others to help each other, to look out for each other, to be
encouraging and harmonious, and to look out for the organization as a whole. In this
leadership, the leader enhances the motivation, morale and performance of his
follower group. A person with this leadership style is a true leader who inspires his or
her team with a shared vision of the future. Transformational leaders are highly visible,
and spend a lot of time communicating. They don’t necessarily lead from the front, as
they tend to delegate responsibility amongst their teams. While their enthusiasm is
often infectious, they can need to be supported by “detail people”.

In many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership are needed.

The transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while
the transformational leaders look after initiatives that add new value.

4. Servant Leadership

This term, coined by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader who is often not
formally recognized as such. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads
simply by virtue of meeting the needs of his or her team, he or she is described as a
“servant leader”. Servant Leadership’s focus was on the leader as a servant, with his or
her key role being in developing, enabling and supporting team members, helping
them fully develop their potential and deliver their best. In many ways, servant
leadership is a form of democratic leadership, as the whole team tends to be involved
in decision-making.

Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest it is an important way ahead in a

world where values are increasingly important, and in which servant leaders achieve
power on the basis of their values and ideals. Others believe that in competitive
leadership situations, people practicing servant leadership can find themselves “left
behind” by leaders using other leadership styles. Followers may like the idea of servant
leadership so there’s something immediately attractive about the idea of having a boss
who’s a servant leader. People without responsibility for results may like it for its
obviously democratic and consensual approach.

5. Charismatic Leadership

The Charismatic Leader and the Transformational Leader can have many similarities, in
that the Transformational Leader may well be charismatic. Their main difference is in
their basic focus. Whereas the Transformational Leader has a basic focus of
transforming the organization and, quite possibly, their followers, the Charismatic
Leader may not want to change anything. A charismatic leadership style can appear
similar to a transformational leadership style, in that the leader injects huge doses of
enthusiasm into his or her team, and is very energetic in driving others forward.

However, charismatic leaders can tend to believe more in themselves than in their
teams. This can create a risk that a project, or even an entire organization, might
collapse if the leader were to leave because in the eyes of their followers, success is
tied up with the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership
carries great responsibility, and needs long-term commitment from the leader.

6. Democratic Leadership or Participative Leadership

Although a democratic leader will make the final decision, he or she invites other
members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This not only
increases job satisfaction by involving employees or team members in what’s going
on, but it also helps to develop people’s skills. Employees and team members feel in
control of their own destiny, and so are motivated to work hard by more than just a
financial reward. Democratic leadership can produce high quantity work for long
periods of time. Many employees like the trust they receive and respond with
cooperation, team spirit, and high morale.
As participation takes time, this style can lead to things happening more slowly than
an autocratic approach, but often the end result is better. It can be most suitable where
team working is essential, and where quality is more important than speed to market
or productivity.

7. Laissez-Faire Leadership

The laissez-faire leadership style is also known as the “hands-off ¨ style. It is one in
which the manager provides little or no direction and gives employees as much
freedom as possible. All authority or power is given to the employees and they must
determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own.

This French phrase means “leave it be” and is used to describe a leader who leaves his
or her colleagues to get on with their work. It can be effective if the leader monitors
what is being achieved and communicates this back to his or her team regularly. Most
often, laissez-faire leadership works for teams in which the individuals are very
experienced and skilled self-starters. Unfortunately, it can also refer to situations where
managers are not exerting sufficient control. The advantage of this kind of style is
positive only in the case when the employees are very responsible and in case of
creative jobs where a person is guided by his own aspirations. In these cases, less
direction is required so this style can be good. This style has more disadvantages
because usually it is the result of the lack of interest of the leader that leads to his
adopting this style. It proves poor management and makes the employees lose their
sense of direction and focus. The disinterest of the management and leadership causes
the employees to become less interested in their job and their dissatisfaction increases.

8. Bureaucratic Leadership

This is style of leadership that emphasizes procedures and historical methods

regardless of their usefulness in changing environments. Bureaucratic leaders attempt
to solve problems by adding layers of control, and their power comes from controlling
the flow of information. Bureaucratic leaders work “by the book”, ensuring that their
staff follow procedures exactly. This is a very appropriate style for work involving
serious safety risks such as working with machinery, with toxic substances, at heights
or where large sums of money are involved such as cash-handling.

In other situations, the inflexibility and high levels of control exerted can demoralize
staff, and can diminish the organization’s ability to react to changing external
circumstances.

CO-ORDINATION

Coordination is the integration, unification, synchronization of the efforts of the

departments to provide unity of action for pursuing common goals. A force that binds
all the other functions of management.

The management of an organization endeavours to achieve optimum coordination

through its basic functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and
controlling.

Therefore, coordination is not a separate function of management because

management is successful only if it can achieve harmony between different
employees and departments. Here are some important features of coordination:

Nature / Features of coordination

• It is relevant for group efforts and not for individual efforts. Coordination
involves an orderly pattern of group efforts. In the case of individual
 efforts, since the performance of the individual does not affect the
functioning of others, the need for coordination does not arise.

• It is a continuous and dynamic process. Continuous because it is

achieved through the performance of different functions. Also, it is
dynamic since functions can change according to the stage of work.

• Most organizations have some sort of coordination in place. However,

the management can always make special efforts to improve it.
• Coordination emphasizes the unity of efforts. This involves fixing the
time and manner in which the various functions are performed in the
organization. This allows individuals to integrate with the overall process.
• A higher degree of coordination happens when the degree of integration
in the performance of various functions increases.

• It is the responsibility of every manager in the organization. In fact, this

is integral to the role of a manager because he synchronizes the efforts
of his subordinates with others.
Types of coordination

Coordination is primarily of two types – internal coordination and external

coordination as described below.

Internal Coordination
Internal coordination is all about establishing a relationship between all
the managers, executives, departments, divisions, branches, and employees or
workers. These relationships are established with a view to coordinate the
activities of the organization. Internal coordination has two groups:

a) Vertical coordination – In vertical coordination, a superior authority

coordinates his work with that of his subordinates and vice versa. For example,
a sales manager will coordinate his tasks with his sales supervisors. On the
other hand, all sales supervisors ensure that they work in sync with the sales
manager.

b) Horizontal coordination – In horizontal coordination, employees of the same

status establish a relationship between them for better performance. For
example, the coordination between department heads, or supervisors, or co-
workers, etc.
In other words, in internal coordination, an employee either reports vertically to
the supervisor and/or the subordinates and horizontally to the colleagues and/or
co-workers.

External Coordination
As the name suggests, external coordination is all about establishing a relationship
between the employees of the organization and people outside it.

These relationships are established with a view to having a better understanding

of outsiders like market agencies, public, competitors,
customers, government agencies, financial institutions, etc.

Usually, organizations entrust a Public Relations Officer (PRO) with the

responsibility of establishing cordial relationships between the employees of the
organization and outsiders.

PURPOSE OF COORDINATION

➢ Unity of Action
o Enterprise has diverse resources, technique, activities etc,
and these all must be in coordination so that there is unity in
action.
➢ Increase in Efficiency and Economy
o Coordination brings efficiency in the departments as it is an
effort of all organizational members to maintain good
relations among all the levels of organization
➢ Survival of the Organization
o Coordination helps to harmonize the work resources which
helps in the survival of the organization.
➢ End of Conflicts
o Many conflicts and rivalries between individuals, in between
departments, and also between a line and staff gets ended due
to the coordination among the departments.
➢ Optimum Utilization of Resources
o In particular, coordination ensures that employees do not
participate in the work of various purposes as it integrates
human resources and organizational resources together.
 Therefore, there is little waste of resources that help the
organization to use them effectively.

➢ Promoting Team Spirit

o In an organization, there are many conflicts between
employees, departments, etc. Integration encourages
individuals and departments to work together as a team and to
achieve common organizational goals. Therefore, it promotes
team spirit.

➢ Growth in size As the organisations grow in size, the number of people in the
organisation increase. Different individuals have different objectives. Coordination is
needed to integrate diverse individual objectives with organisational objectives.

➢ Functional differentiation Different departments in the organisation have their own set
of objectives, policies, etc. This creates conflicting situations many a times.
Coordination seeks to intergrate the efforts and activities of various departments.

➢ Specialisation In modern organisations, high level of specialised activities take place,

which are performed by specialists. Specialists often consider themselves to be
supreme and are not open to suggestions and advice. This brings conflicting
situations, which can be resolved by coordination

Techniques for effective co-ordination:

a) Self co-ordination/ Horizontal co-ordination - This is achieved through voluntary
horizontal communication between individuals, sections, departments and divisions.

b) Co-ordination by hierarchy or Chain of command / Vertical co-ordination – A

superior can co-ordinate the efforts of his subordinates by giving orders and
instructions using his authority.

c) Co-ordination by leadership – A superior can achieve co-ordination by inducing and

persuading subordinates to work in harmony.

d) Co-ordination through committees – Better face to face communication between

members of the committee brings about co-ordination.

e) Co-ordination through staff meetings – Staff meetings chaired by the superior

provides an opportunity for the subordinates to bring out the conflicting issues for a
group decision.
f) Co-ordination through special Co-ordinators - Special co-ordinators work in staff
capacity. They collect and send information to heads of various sections/ departments
to bring about unified effort.