Welcome to Session 1 of the Primary Leadership Development.
The Primary Leadership Development course is designed to equip the participant with the essential leadership skills and qualities needed to excel in various personal and professional settings. Participants will engage in a comprehensive program that covers foundational leadership principles, effective communication strategies, team building, problem-solving, and self-awareness. Through a combination of theoretical concepts, practical exercises, and real-world case studies, participants will develop the skills and mindset necessary to lead with confidence and impact.
This means you and I; we are going to work together to help change the shape of what we know by busting myths and reinforcing facts.
LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS
There are numerous leadership styles and concepts. For the sake of time and to not bog you down with too many concepts right away, I am going to breakdown four:
- Concept 1: Trait Theory – Certain personality traits make a leader.
- Concept 2: Behavioral Theory – Certain behavioral traits of individuals that determines whether they are leaders or not
- Concept 3: Situational Theory – how an individual behaves in certain situations determines leadership competency.
- Concept 4: Management or Transactional Theory – successful leadership to determining appropriate sources of motivation to get results. It runs on the concept of rewards and recognition.
There are several more leadership concepts such as authoritarian leadership style, Transformational leadership, democratic leadership, Servant leadership, charismatic authority, and Bureaucratic leadership.
LEADERSHIP STYLES
There are just as many leadership styles as there are concepts. Each style is unique to the individual. Some leaders may find it easy to move among the different styles and there are others that will find the one that works for them and sticks to it. That is OK. You will find that there is also no cookie cutter approach to leadership styles
- Autocratic leadership style: “‘authoritarian style of leadership,’ this type of leader is someone who’s focused primarily on results and team efficiency. Autocratic leaders often make decisions alone or with a small and trusted group and expect employees to do exactly what they’re asked.”
- Coaching leadership style: “coaching leader is someone who can quickly recognize their team members’ strengths, weaknesses and motivations to help each individual improve”
- Laissez-faire leadership style: The laissez-faire leadership style is and I quote the opposite of the autocratic leadership type, focusing mostly on delegating many tasks to team members and providing little to no supervision. Because a laissez-faire leader doesn’t spend their time intensely managing employees, they often have more time for other projects. Unquote
- Pacesetter leadership style: “most effective for achieving fast results” however, “not always the best option for team members who need mentorship and feedback”
- Visionary leadership style: “possess a powerful ability to drive progress and usher in periods of change by inspiring employees and earning trust for new ideas”
Again, there are numerous leadership styles and theories. Do not feel overwhelmed by the number of styles and theories.
Which is the right one for you? Well, that is completely up to you and how you will get to the leadership style that is right for you will take three things:
- Time
- Experience
- Knowledge
Yep, add TIME, EXPERIENCE, and KNOWLEDGE together in more cases than naught you get WISDOM. Hopefully, the kind of wisdom that people will use for good, especially when it comes to mentoring and leading others.
TIME + EXPERIENCE+ KNOWLEDGE is, coincidentally, the formula for WISDOM.
HOMEWORK
(click here to download Session 1 Homework Worksheet in PDF)
Your homework assignment for Section 1 is to, in writing, determine what would you consider to be your current leadership style and what concept best currently describes you? I added the words current and currently solely because by the end of the course you may find yourself identifying with a different concept and use a different leadership style.
The next episode of the Primary Leadership Development Course drops in a couple of weeks on or about January 29, 2024.