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Advantages and Disadvantages of the Leadership Styles
Management and Supervisory Skills

Military Requirements for Chief Petty Officer
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The affiliator style of leadership is especially well adapted to the role of counselor. It is also effective when you need to recognize someone for doing a good job. However, the affiliator has a negative effect when the work center has a tight deadline or when you are in a leadership role for long periods. People who use the democratic leadership style listen to subordinates. Therefore, you could benefit  from  this  style  when  showing  a  new maintenance procedure or how a new piece of equipment works. You would also find it helpful when planning social events based on a consensus of opinion. Using this style when preparing for an  inspection  would  be  harmful  because  you would lack control. It would also be harmful during drills or combat because you would not have time to hold meetings. You would have to tell  subordinates  what  to  do  or  the  entire command could be lost. Using the pacesetter style of leadership is helpful when you are working with a new work center or teaching a new maintenance procedure by example. However, if you begin doing other people’s work, rather than training, monitoring, and developing subordinates, the pacesetter style becomes harmful to the work center. The coach style of leadership is helpful when a worker is attempting to learn a new procedure or master a new technique. It is also effective when you need to counsel a subordinate who frequently  arrives  late  at  the  work  center. However, this style of leadership has no effect on a subordinate who knows how to perform a job or task but refuses to do the work. Factors Affecting Leadership Styles The following six elements interact to deter- mine your leadership style: • Motives and values • Past experiences • Past and present supervisors • Jobs or tasks • Organizational culture and norms • Situations MOTIVES AND VALUES. —Your  leadership style reflects those motives and values you see as important. If power is important to you, you may emphasize the coercer style of leadership. If you value friendship, you may tend to emphasize the democratic or affiliator style of leadership. PAST  EXPERIENCES.  —If a particular leadership style has worked in the past, you will probably use it again in similar situations. If a certain style didn’t work, you will avoid using it again. Therefore, past experiences influence your leadership style. PAST AND PRESENT SUPERVISORS. — Since supervisors serve as role models, subor- dinates  frequently  imitate  their  behavior; therefore,  your  supervisors  influence  your dominant leadership style. JOBS OR TASKS. —The job or task your work  center  performs  affects  your  leadership style. A new procedure or the installation of a piece of equipment may call for the pacesetter style of leadership. An emergency situation may cause you to be coercive. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES AND NORMS. —Civilian businesses provide a service or product to society. Since the products and services provided by businesses differ, the needs and requirements of their workers also differ. The same is true for the Navy. The Navy provides a service to its country. Each organizational level of the Navy performs a specific job or provides a  product  that  contributes  to  that  service. Therefore, the needs and requirements of the workers at each level also differ. This difference creates different work environments (cultures) and different  relationships  (norms)  between  the workers. The culture of your organization has a great impact on your leadership style. Your leadership style changes to fit the organizational culture of your work center. In short, you will change  your  leadership  style  to  meet  the expectations of your superiors. SITUATIONS. —Specific situations determine your leadership style because each one could involve a different number of people and a different  amount  of  pressure  or  stress.  For example, you might use the democratic style when assigning a daily task because you would have time to explain the "why" of doing it. However, you would be unable to use that style during an emergency. Can you imagine explaining why you want the electrical power secured during a fire aboard ship? 3-17







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