Leadership and Management

There are many different theories regarding the styles of leadership and management. The theories which have been used in this assignment are Likert’s Leadership Styles and Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s Continuum of Leadership Behaviour. These two theories have been used as Likert’s theory places an emphasis on an organisations style whilst Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s theory can be applied to an individual.

Using Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s theory, I would describe myself as using a mixture of the four styles (tells, sells, consults and joins), depending on the situation. I find myself more comfortable using a consulting style, while bringing in an element of the joining style when applicable. I have developed these styles as a preference as a reflection of my personality and also from working with managers who have used and promoted these styles.

Since progressing to General Manager I have had to develop my ability to effectively delegate tasks to ensure that my work load is realistic, but without overloading the staff working for me. This has also had the added benefit of assisting in developing staff and also increasing their satisfaction and motivation as they feel that their ability is recognised by being trusted to complete work which is in theory above their level.

Over the last couple of years I have improved my ability to build relationships with staff to ensure that I can get the most out of them. This has improved as my awareness of different personalities has grown and also my experiences of working with different personalities and people of different ages. Whilst it is easy to motivate a member of staff who is keen to progress, I have had to develop the ability to motivate staff who are happy in their role and not looking to progress. I have also had to find ways making sure that they feel valued when there are not promotions or pay rises available to them. I have done this by ensuring that the same training opportunities