Team Leadership Theories

Probably the most important part of becoming any sort of leader in the modern workplace is to be the person that others choose to follow. Even where compulsion is possible, it tends not to work very well.

If people decide that they don't want to do things your way, then they can find any number of ingenious ways to undermine your wishes. Even if the obstructive behavior justifies dismissal, firing someone always has negative consequences for morale, focus, and productivity. In fact, you can end up spending so much time and effort defending your decision to your boss, co-workers, or an employment tribunal that you don't have any time left to do your job properly.

Leadership style

If you want to take a leadership role, then the most important questions you can ask are:

Which leadership style is the most appropriate?
Which leadership style is most prevalent in your organization?
Why should my team follow my lead?
How can I alter my competencies and behaviors to become this type of leader?

The answers to these questions depend on your role, your team, and the task at hand. Whilst there are some skills that you will need to develop in order to be an effective leader, your role, your team, and the task will all affect which of these skills you use.

Factors that impact leadership style

Before getting down to answering the question of why people would choose to follow your lead, you will need to understand the different styles of leadership available and the different types of team that are found in the workplace.

The fact that there are such a variety of possible types of team makes it impractical to generalize too much when discussing leadership styles. Throughout this eBook we will use three real-life examples of teams that are very different in their purpose and make-up.

You may also be interested in:
Leadership Theories and Management | Different Leadership Styles | Transactional Leadership | Transformational Leadership | Situational Leadership | Leadership Continuum.


Key Points

  • Being the person that others choose to follow is the key to effective team leadership.
  • The optimum leadership style will depend on your role, your team, and the task at hand.
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