As a business and workplace expert, I’m often asked about common leadership styles. I usually share that command-and-control, otherwise known as “what the boss says goes” is based on concentrating power over people and processes in a single person or group, and is still norm in most contemporary organizations.
According to a recent article on the Association for Talent Development’s website, the command-and-control style has its roots in the industrial revolution and is mainly based on two movements: Frederic W. Taylor's scientific management (1911) and Max Weber's bureaucratic management (1922). Taylor's and Weber's everlasting pursuit for efficiency forced many organizations to squeeze out the most with the least amount of energy, time and money. Their movements successfully introduced strong hierarchies, rigid rules and made work increasingly specialized. This style flourished in the corporate world for nearly a century, and is something most new leaders intuitively understand.
The command-and-control style can be a bit rigid. It often assumes that leaders always know best that they must set a long-term strategy, and that no one must deviate from the plan thereafter. Cooperation may be forced, resistance silenced. If external conditions change or command-and-control leaders encounter obstacles, they cope with them expeditiously, with the goal of sticking as closely as possible to the original strategy.
You may have already guessed why command-and-control is not working for some organizations. My view is that it limits engagement and conversation and discourages autonomy and agility. It’s also better suited to a stable environment, which the mid-21st century business world is often not.
In my opinion, the most effective workplace cultures connect individual goals to the organization’s larger purpose, incenting employees to buy-in and commit to the vision versus communicating that they have no other choice. A CIO article from earlier this year defined a similar style as transformational leadership, in which leaders encourage, inspire and motivate employees to innovate and create change that will help grow and shape the future success of the company. Some 21st century leaders have abandoned command-and-control and govern their organizations using transformational leadership.
The best transformational leaders, however, are often not born that way. Rather, they may need to learn the attitudes and behaviors that make this style effective. I believe there is a skills gap in leadership today because young managers are promoted at a faster pace, and to keep their heads above water, may be likely to default to the command-and-control style. Based on my work with dozens of organizations, I suggest closing the gap by advocating four transformational leadership best practices.
For the rest of the piece, head over to the DeVryWORKS site.
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