UNDERSTANDING THEORIES
The type of leader you strive to be can easily be obtained if you are able to see the theory behind the styles of leadership you admire to achieve. Some leaders have more task-oriented behaviors that make up their leadership style. These people are the initiators, the organizers, the informational gatherers and the planners. If this doesn't describe your leadership style, you might be leaning more towards being a people-oriented leader. Leaders with these behaviors are encouraging, observant listeners, coaches and mentors, and focus on working more on their relationship with others. There is no right or wrong leadership style here, and they all depend on the situation, but having an equal combination of both would position you to be a strong team leader.
Maybe you can relate more to the Theory X or Theory Y type of leadership theory better. If you demonstrate a more authoritarian style of leadership, where you try to motivate your workers because you assume that they don’t want to do the work, you would consider yourself a Theory X type of leader. These type of leaders need control, they are high on productivity and low on their people skills, but enjoy discipline and would be in a good position if they are new to the organization. If you enjoy participation with others and assume that your workers are motivated and thrive on responsibility, then you would be more of a Theory Y type of leader. Again here, there is no right or wrong type of leader, just different theories based on different behaviors and traits.
One TV show that I enjoy watching is Scandal. Actress Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope in the show, is the definition of a total #ladyboss. She is the former media consultant to the president and after successfully helping Fitz Grant win his campaign for President of the United States, she decides its time for her to launch her own crisis-management consultancy. She's become the go-to gal for D.C. politicians and public figures in crisis. Olivia has no problems bending the rules to help her clients. She sees the world in gray, rather than black and white, leading to more sympathetic relationships with her clients. Her team proudly owns their role as "gladiators in suits," loyally following their white-hatted leader.
Olivia is a strong leader, with authoritarian qualities of a Theory X leader. She is also very task-based and gets the job done at any costs. But the great thing about her is that she does care about the people on her team that she manages and her clients. She has a very strong people-based side to her, where she is sympathetic with her clients and will go to extraneous lengths to help them with their crisis. This is also true about her team members. She has created a family type-bond relationship with them and encourages them, and they look up and admire her for these traits that she posses. Olivia is a great example of the type of leader that I strive to become. A strong team leader who is kind and caring of others, but tough and willing to get the tasks at hand done.
