PAPERmaking! g FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY ® Volume 8, Number 1, 2022
8. Bureaucratic Leadership (Rarely Effective) Bureaucratic leaders go by the books. This style of leadership might listen and consider the input of employees — unlike autocratic leadership — but the leader tends to reject an employee's input if it conflicts with company policy or past practices. You may run into a bureaucratic leader at a larger, older, or traditional company. At these companies, when a colleague or employee proposes a strong strategy that seems new or non-traditional, bureaucratic leaders may reject it. Their resistance might be because the company has already been successful with current processes and trying something new could waste time or resources if it doesn't work. Employees under this leadership style might not feel as controlled as they would under autocratic leadership, but there is still a lack of freedom in how much people are able to do in their roles. This can quickly shut down innovation, and is definitely not encouraged for companies who are chasing ambitious goals and quick growth. Leadership Style Assessment Leaders can carry a mix of the above leadership styles depending on their industry and the obstacles they face. At the root of these styles, according to leadership experts Bill Torbert and David Rooke, are what are called "action logics." These action logics assess "how [leaders] interpret their surroundings and react when their power or safety is challenged." That's the idea behind a popular management survey tool called the Leadership Development Profile. Created by professor Torbert and psychologist Susanne Cook-Greuter — and featured in the book, Personal and Organizational Transformations — the survey relies on a set of 36 open-ended sentence completion tasks to help researchers better understand how leaders develop and grow. Below, we've outlined six action logics using open-ended sentences that help describe each one. See how much you agree with each sentence and, at the bottom, find out which leadership style you uphold based on the action logics you most agreed with. 1. Individualist The individualist, according to Rooke and Tolbert, is self-aware, creative, and primarily focused on their own actions and development as opposed to overall organizational performance. This action logic is exceptionally driven by the desire to exceed personal goals and constantly improve their skills. Here are some things an individualist might say: Individualist 1: "A good leader should always trust their own intuition over established organizational processes." Individualist 2: "It's important to be able to relate to others so I can easily communicate complex ideas to them." Individualist 3: "I'm more comfortable with progress than sustained success." 2. Strategist Strategists are acutely aware of the environments in which they operate. They have a deep understanding of the structures and processes that make their businesses tick, but they're also able to consider these frameworks critically and evaluate what could be improved. Here are some things a strategist might say: Strategist 1: "A good leader should always be able to build a consensus in divided groups." Strategist 2: "It's important to help develop the organization as a whole, as well as the growth and individual achievements of my direct reports." Strategist 3: "Conflict is inevitable, but I'm knowledgeable enough about my team's personal and professional relationships to handle the friction."
Article 10 – Leadership
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