This list was published on the blog of American Express.
Autocratic leadership style
The autocratic style is based on precise instructions, clearly defined duties of employees and clearly defined expectations on the part of the team leadership.
Advantages: Employees know what is expected of them, and this is a very effective management style especially for employees who do not flourish in an environment allowing too much of their own initiative.
Disadvantages: Too little room given to the more constructive and creative employees; sometimes bordering on micro-management.
Delegation-based people management
In this case, the leader is a work coordinator. They set priorities, allocate tasks and coordinate the workload of their team.
Advantages: This is ideal for fields based on person-hours, such as design, IT, or certain services.
Disadvantages: This style requires a high level of independence in employees.
Democratic leadership
A democratic leader listens to their subordinates; they do not make decisions on their own, but let their subordinates vote.
Advantages: Employees do not have a sense of decisions being made without their having a say in them. Processes are set up that genuinely suit regular team members.
Disadvantages: Slow decision-making, endless debates, absence of a shared vision and frequent internal arguments.
The leader is a visionary
A visionary is someone capable of coming up with original and big ideas and making the team feel enthusiastic about these plans.
Advantages: A common vision is shared, team spirit uplifted and there is the expectation of a better future that makes the workers productive.
Disadvantages: Visionaries often have trouble finishing projects. They keep coming up with new ideas, but might not be so interested in the mundane, tedious work required to reach the finish line.
Technical leadership
In this case, the team is managed by an expert who has vast technical knowledge and very good hard skills in the field that the team is engaged in.
Advantages: Professional and technical development of employees, and the ability of the manager to step in for any of the employees.
Disadvantages: Soft skills are often neglected and the manager then focuses only on exact numbers and expertise of their subordinates, while neglecting empathy or ability to communicate effectively.
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