Introduction
Leadership styles are the behavioral strategies leaders use to persuade, inspire, and guide their subordinates. A leader’s leadership style affects plans and strategies to achieve specific goals while considering stakeholders’ needs and expectations and their team’s health and well-being (Gallup et al., 2023). A good leadership style is one in which the leader is self-aware, is committed to inspiring innovation in individuals on his or her team, and exhibits the traits of organizational discipline, optimism, creative thinking, selflessness, and organizational success. Being an effective leader requires me to uphold high moral standards, practice self-improvement, foster the growth of my team members, and engage in cross-cultural communication by putting creative ideas and more strategic thinking into practice (Gibson et al., 2020). As an effective leader, it is my responsibility to be the primary contributor to the success of my organization by keeping track of all team activities and motivating increased effort on the part of the team in every work it completes.
PART ONE
Self-Analysis of My Leadership Style
I possess a strong leadership style, considering that I am an honest person, positive, prioritize what needs to be done, solution-oriented, do not procrastinate on projects, responsible, focused on my work, effective communicator, listen to others, adaptable, performs best in the team, people-oriented, and value the hard work of people. I will ensure the team’s work is done successfully as a leader. Leading my work team democratically is essential, but adhering to the fundamentals of leadership by carefully scrutinizing the contributions made by my team members will result in effective leadership.
My leadership style will be democratic leadership style. My leadership style consists of being interactive and supportive and giving each team member a chance to influence the course of existing initiatives. I make my decisions as a leader based on the feedback I receive from the team members. I, however, have the final authority to decide because I am the leader.
The Strongest Areas of My Leadership Style
I possess strong leadership skills, such as I have individual stability, being productive, can manage my emotions, and recognizing my boundaries. In addition, I am an effective communicator, focused on my work; I value my team members and collaborate effectively with others to accomplish the group’s goals and help my team members grow (Gallup et al., 2023). These are the characteristics of democratic leadership styles. In my democratic leadership, I will give every individual of my team members a specific amount of autonomy that they will need to carry out their tasks in an equitable way, think carefully about their circumstances, and make the best decisions regarding their work. Hence, encouraging employee engagement and input (Oussible et al., 2022).
Two aspects are required to raise both efficiency and spirits among employees. When people believe their ideas matter, they are more likely to be engaged and go the extra mile. As a result of the honesty of my entire leadership style, I will lead all my team members by getting involved in every aspect of their role and motivating them by assigning them all the required duties (Oussible et al., 2022). This will ensure that staff members approach their responsibilities politely should they require any ideas from me.
Employees are urged to collaborate to discuss and offer solutions for challenging issues. Due to the democratic process, which encourages employees to contribute original ideas and strengthen tasks, team members’ creativity will grow due to their ability for individual thought. Each team member can communicate with one another freely thanks to this freedom of opinion, which helps the group develop a positive working relationship (Staff et al., 2022). Through this leadership, every employee will be open and honest with their coworkers and each other at work, resulting in increased job satisfaction.
Democratic leadership is crucial because it encourages teamwork and collaboration and allows every employee to express their thoughts. Every member gets the ability to generate ideas and make suggestions, making it a leadership style that fosters creativity and innovation. Because they consistently listen to their staff, leaders who practice participatory leadership also foster a sense of trust and respect.
The Weakest Areas of My Leadership Style
Considering my democratic leadership style, some weaknesses can cause the process of finding the best choice and presenting the result to drag out. Democratic leadership occasionally develops adverse feelings as a result of its team members. Sometimes teammates who disagree with a teammate’s opinion will express it negatively when the team members exchange their ideas with one another. It is only sometimes enough to ensure success in a task in such situations.
Making a decision will take more time under democratic leadership since many individuals must participate in the decision-making process. Sometimes it causes the workflow to slow down, which leads to project inefficiencies. Almost every team member invests more time and effort into contributing their ideas (Devi et al., 2021). These opinions may or may not be worthwhile. As a democratic leader, I must make difficult choices on how to proceed. An employee’s confidence and enthusiasm may suffer due to these rejections.
Individuals in the Workplace have various opinions and approaches to a particular issue or circumstance. However, I am only able to select one as a leader. Other workers may feel excluded because my leadership style involves opinions, but I must select the best. They can believe that their input is not respected while making decisions (Villanovau, 2023). Uncertainty is another area of my leadership style that could be improved. The options taken by each team member on my team to select the optimal response for the scenario are still being determined, and uncertainties can be seen in each choice. Given this ambiguity, the best action for the team members or employees is the best course of action. As a result, people who expect the best solutions from their team members might be better suited for this leadership style.
This leadership approach has the potential to be ineffective and expensive because it requires time to plan group conversations, gather suggestions and input, talk about alternative outcomes, and communicate conclusions. Additionally, it may increase social pressure on colleagues who dislike discussing ideas in front of a group. Because democratic leaders frequently consult one another for advice, making decisions without consulting their team or workforce might be challenging (Villanovau, 2023).
PART TWO
A Written Plan to Improve the Areas of Weakness in My Leadership Style.
Specific procedures must be taken to strengthen the areas where my democratic leadership style is lacking to enhance the employees’ ability to make decisions and satisfy customers. As a leader, I must communicate clearly. I am still determining what information will be accurate and timely for the team members to proceed with a task and develop the best solution. By doing so, my team members will be able to communicate effectively with one another and close the communication gap (Devi et al., 2021)
I must establish a well-organized structure as a leader to support an efficient working environment if the team is to fulfill its duties in creating a probable success of the solutions by using the appropriate resources. Any task that has a deadline must be completed by that date. This democratic leadership style also requires that deadlines be met because it requires more time than other leadership philosophies. Consequently, adhering to deadlines will provide them with an appropriate time restriction where the staff members must make selections within the allowed deadline timeframe.
Setting strict deadlines for the submission of the process will keep the team’s efforts focused and reduce any distracting behaviors on the part of the team members. Additionally, some proposals need to be made during the decision-making process, and the leader will be able to provide an understanding of the foundation upon which the answers must be built and how the process must be carried out (Gallup et al., 2023). By addressing the flaws in democratic leadership and reducing the risks that result from those flaws, all these return plans will strengthen democratic leadership. Everyone must believe that their opinions can be heard for a democracy to function effectively. Being receptive to feedback, enabling group members to take the initiative, and developing a well-coordinated decision-making process enhance democratic leadership (Devi et al., 2021).
I must make sure that my democratic leadership style has clear rules in place for the decision-making procedure. Create a handbook for employees that explain the decisions I will make without their input and the circumstances that call for unanimous consent (Successfactory, 2020.). I must understand the structure of my organization, its strengths and weaknesses. I require groups in charge of performing essential duties. I can boost output by efficiently utilizing the company’s resources. Working with a solid administrative framework and democratic leadership is advantageous (Gallup et al., 2023).
As a democratic leader, I can structure feedback, such as collaborative weekly check-ins and progress updates with team members, to ensure they meet all deadlines. In addition, I can implement uniform processes for assessing each member’s inputs and opinions to ensure all are considered. These processes include collaborative weekly check-ins and progress updates with team members (Devi et al., 2021). Democratic leadership is essential because it promotes cooperation and teamwork while giving each employee a voice. This leadership style encourages creativity and innovation, allowing each member to contribute ideas and proposals.
Conclusion
The team members will feel more at ease working with their freedom of thought in their tasks and decision-making procedures if their leader is democratic. Although this is a good idea, there are times when the team’s leader must guide and direct team members when making decisions that may not be the best or as clear-cut as they might have been. These decisions must be made so that the deadlines can submit solutions and stay within the allotted time. All these factors may be considered for enhancing my democratic leadership style, and if they are managed well, my leadership style will result in tremendous success.
By valuing their perspectives and allowing them to participate in problem-solving, a democratic leader creates a welcoming environment for all team members. I can adopt strategies that encourage engagement from others if I want to be a better democratic leader. This entails communicating with the team members to comprehend their aspirations and establish times and locations where individuals can openly express their thoughts. Democratic leadership has a variety of rewards. It can improve morale, develop relationships, prioritize positive traits like honesty, and inspire engagement. As with any leadership style, knowing democratic leadership’s guiding principles and a leader’s commitment to developing their leadership style are prerequisites for making the most of it.
Reference
Devi, A. D., & Subiyantoro, S. (2021). Implementation of democratic leadership style and transformational head of madrasah in improving the quality. Nidhomul Haq: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 6(1), 14-26. https://e-journal.ikhac.ac.id/index.php/nidhomulhaq/article/view/1162
Gallup (2023). “How to Improve Employee Engagement in the Workplace.” Gallup, https://www.gallup.com/workplace/285674/improve-employee-engagement-workplace.aspx.
Gibson, K. (2020). “The Little Things That Make Employees Feel Appreciated.” Harvard Business Review, 23 Jan. 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/01/the-little-things-that-make-employees-feel-appreciated.
Oussible, N., & Tinaztepe, C. I. H. A. N. (2022). The Effect of Democratic Leadership Style on Organizational Productivity by the mediating role of Employee performance in Turkey. International Journal of Recent Research in Commerce Economics and Management, 9(1), 6–16. https://www.paperpublications.org/upload/book/The%20Effect%20of%20Democratic-26012022-4.pdf
Staff, L. E. (2022). 6 Tips for Leading through Conflict. CCL. https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/calm-conflict-in-the-workplace/.
Villanova (2023). “Democratic Leadership Style: Characteristics, Pros and Cons.” Villanova University. https://www.villanovau.com/resources/leadership/democratic-leadership-style/.
Success factors. (2020.) The advantages of Democratic leadership in the Workplace.. https://www.thesuccessfactory.co.uk/blog/the-advantages-of-democratic-leadership-in-the-workplace
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