Understanding Leadership Essay

1762 Words8 Pages
Alison Walmsley Institute of Leadership &amp; Management Level 3 Understanding Leadership AC 1.1 Describe the factors that will influence the choice of leadership styles or behaviours in workplace situations There are several factors which may affect a manager’s choice of leadership style in workplace situations. The first factor is the task. “The task” can be described as a simple way of defining the actual purpose of the team as well as the objectives of the team. A manager needs to be certain that all team members share a common goal. Once this has been clarified it is the manager’s job to guide his team to accomplish these goals. To make it easier for the manager the team’s tasks should be created using the “SMART” principle. They should be specific, measurable, achievable and realistic and time bound. Once the task has been clearly defined it is then easier for the manager to decide which leadership style to use in the given situation. For example if an important/urgent task needs to be completed in a short period of time the manager may decide to use a more direct authoritative style (autocratic or bureaucratic leadership). An example of this within my workplace would be the customer requires an urgent delivery to be dispatched. There is no benefit in discussing the best ways to achieve the customers’ needs, the most efficient avenue is to simply ‘get the job done’ by organising the urgent dispatch. The instruction to do so simply needs to be followed and actioned accordingly. Another benefit of using smart objectives is that employees will get a clearer understanding of what needs to done to achieve the task. With this understanding they will therefore be more likely to accept a sudden change in leadership style. For example if an employee is working in the new product development area of the company and the given task is a creative one
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