Leaders & managers critical thinking examples

Management Styles

Some people say that leaders are born not made. However, some would argue that leaders can be made with the right amount of experiences, proper training and a mindset fit for leadership. Delegation is an important part of leadership. It is ensuring that all work is properly distributed to every member of the team according to their capacities and expertise (Rath and Conchie). However, delegation has its downsides. If the leader tends to over delegate, he/she could miss out on learning a lot of things by addressing the issues of the project personally. Usually, the best teacher is one’s experience. If a leader would simply delegate the task, then the lessons that would come from doing it personally would go to the person assigned to it instead of a leader. In addition, over-delegating tends to make the leader highly accountable for failure but may feel otherwise. In the event that something bad ever happens, or the project fails, a leader can easily point fingers and pass the blame to the person who made the task. However, if this happens and the leader does that, it means that that he/she is not mature enough to take any form of responsibility.
In the same manner, micromanaging also has a negative effect for a manager because a limited view of the business. Micromanaging focuses on one aspect of business operation and fails to consider the other aspect, therefore, falling short on the idea that every aspect of business is interrelated and interconnected. The failure of one aspect of operations would naturally cause a domino effect.
A law enforcement supervisor may incorporate the theories of management styles by considering the need of the situation presented upon them. For example, a law enforcer is assigned in drug enforcement. In this case, the law enforcer can practice autocratic management if he saw a crime being committed as drug trafficking. He can immediately exercise his authority without needing to advice or sought anyone’s permission to take action. Democratic management is exercised in this situation by allowing every member of the team to take their own respective poll and observe that whatever drug ordinance is being implemented. It is giving everyone the opportunity to perform a particular task according to the area they have familiarity. The third management style is participative management in which the law enforcer may, from time to time seek the permission of someone else to execute action. A perfect example would be with the case of conducting a raid on a perceived drug den. Finally, the laissez faire style is the when a law enforcement is free to make their own decision according to how they deem such action is necessary.

Work Cited

Rath, Tom and Barry Conchie. Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. Washington, D.C.: Gallup Press, 2009.