Leadership Style Synergies
68The following four leadership styles are all different: Director, Problem Solver, Developer, and Delegator (Topchik, 2007). Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Directors like to give direction with very little team discussion. Problem Solvers like to discuss potential options and then give direction after getting team input. Developers like to encourage team members to develop their abilities through goal setting. Delegators like to allow team members to manage their own areas of responsibilities. Although each leadership style is unique in its approach to management, there are also similarities among the styles. These similarities present an opportunity for some potential synergies. It’s important to identify any potential synergies among the leadership styles and how to capitalize on them. After all, you can often times achieve more with teamwork. It’s important to find these synergies and use them to positively affect “morale and productivity” (Topchik, 2007).
First, I see some similarities between the Director and Problem Solver leadership styles. I think this provides some opportunities to get more done. For example, both of these leadership styles have the desire to make decisions and influence the team with direction. This is an area the team can capitalize on. If the problem solver is the team leader, which is the case in many groups, they will want to discuss situations and get team feedback. At this point, they will want to make some decisions and give some direction. Directors will gladly take some direction from the problem solver. If the team leader is specific in telling us what, how, and when things need to be done, directors will be motivated to perform their roles. These two leadership styles can work well together in this type of situation as long as the director acknowledges the team leader’s desire to discuss the project first. In addition, the problem solver must also acknowledge the importance of making decisions and giving specific instructions for directors to follow. Directors will follow the instructions and seek to achieve the team goals in an effort to do a good job.
Second, I see some similarities between the Developer and Delegator leadership styles. Each of these styles likes team members to make decisions on their own. The Developer likes to discuss and encourage team members to work on their ability to make good decisions. The Delegator likes less discussion while leaving the decisions in the hands of individual team members concerning their specific tasks. During weekly team discussions, the team leader, who may be a Problem Solver, can use this to the team’s advantage. The team leader can use the Developer’s desire to discuss situations to encourage participation from the Developer. In addition, the team leader can use the discussion as an opportunity to influence through making the final decision. In making the final decision, the team leader can give the Developer and the Delegator opportunities to make their own decisions in the tasks the team leader provides. In this scenario, the team leader gets to influence through direction and the Developer and Delegator have some freedom in making decisions on their portion of the project.
Third, I see a similarity between the Director and Delegator styles. Both leadership styles favor less discussion and more action. In the discussion, each needs to acknowledge the other member’s interest in discussing the project. The team leader can capitalize on our desire for action. Specifically, the team leader can acknowledge Director’s desire to give or receive direction. In addition, the team leader can acknowledge the Delegator’s desire to make decisions on his own without much supervision. The team leader can use this during the discussions to quickly arrive at the correct course of action. In other words, the team leader can minimize the need for over discussion and allow some freedom in team member decision making. They can get the team moving a little faster in this scenario.
Finally, each team will most likely contain members having a combination of the four leadership styles. To work well together, it’s important for each member to have a good understanding of the traits of each leadership style. As a result, each member can strive to accommodate the needs of the others. In doing this, the team will work better together.
Works Cited
Topchik, G. S. (2007). The First-Time Manager's Guide to Team Building. New York: American Management Association.
